Downpour
by Suyiro Motsuko
Summary: In this little world of Twilight Town, many weird things happen: people suddenly disappear, innocents go mad without reason, and unexpected things always seem to happen...Main: ZexDem Secondary: RiSo AkuRoku plus plenty of cameos! Drama/Suspense
1. Chapter 1: Black Rain in Twilight Town

Welcome to my second fanfiction, a Kingdom Hearts fic (my first) called Downpour. A story about weird experiments, stolen memories and a bunch of quite possible angst, reppressed sexual desire and of course yaoi (don't like, don't read). Warning: It's a bit long and I tend to put too much information in one chapter, if any changes are needed please review and tell me any dislike and likes and such. Thanks to my three reviewers for the renewed interest in the story as well.

**Edit:** Chapter has been Edited and Updated

* * *

Chapter I: Black Rain in Twilight Town

_In this little world of Twilight Town, many weird things happen: people suddenly disappear, innocents go mad without reason, and unexpected things always seem to happen. I, Zexion Matsumoto, am a detective whose specialty is the unexpected, born with abilities far from normal, I have dedicated my life to pursue the unknown in search for answers about myself, this world, and the reason the darkness seems to be swallowing us whole._

~o~

It seemed to be a Monday night like every other and yet very uncharacteristically, the rain poured down with fervor on the city streets of downtown Twilight Town, shrouding it in total darkness. The young detective's boots on the concrete sidewalk would have echoed if not for the thunderous sky over the emptiness of the town. He wore a black trench coat, zipped up tight over the rain, hood over his head; under it a dark blue dress shirt, equally as blue jeans and of course his weapon of choice "_A small dictionary…deal with it…_" in his back pocket.

"_This really is odd…Twilight Town isn't usually so dark…even when it rains…_" he thought as he walked, looking for a place to stay in until the rain subsided; he shivered over the cold and cursed at himself for leaving his umbrella back at the office.

He finally stopped at his destination, looking up at the neon sign, 'The Freeshooter', a small café owned by Xigbar, local chef and the best ex-cop around "_He'll probably deny this but, he accidentally shot himself in the eye, the bullet ricochet from an unknown surface, never grabbed a gun again, which is why he quit…"_

He opened the door, and if possible, shivered even more from the coldness of the establishment. People looked over, bewildered; no one in their right mind would be out in that. He removed his hood and revealed his pale lilac hair, which covered the whole right side of his face; while his only visible eye was a deep blue itself.

"Welcome back" a young girl smiled, coming up to him.

"Naminé…" he said, teeth chattering.

"I see everything went well, although I highly doubt you counted on the weather" a young girl of piercing blue eyes and blonde hair with a soft voice and expression spoke to the young man; she wore a white blouse with a checkered skirt and a necklace with a small card as it's pendant.

"Hey! Get the boy a towel would ya? He must be freezing his butt off" said the owner, Xigbar from behind the counter; he wore an eye-patch over his right eye and a scar on his left cheek, his only eye was a yellow color. His hair was long with patches of gray here and there, black mostly; he appears laid back and a little bit eccentric, but he's one of the few loyal people you'll meet around here who can make a decent smoothie also; he wore a large white apron, full of stains over a wife beater and jeans.

"Right" She nodded and to the back to find a towel.

As he waited he looked around; the café was empty, except for a few people and a man he knew slightly well, Vexen, a scientist who was not only snobbish "_A ten on the snob scale…_" but he also seemed to deal in very shady business, and like always, his table was full of papers and his suitcase. While he looked around the door bumped into his backside and caused him to stumble, he turned and glared at the person who wore a grim look on his face "Watch it" Zexion hissed.

"Oh…sorry Zexion, I didn't see you there…" it was Roxas, Naminé's older brother, he wore a checkered hood over his head, and a black umbrella in hand; he moved past Zexion and sat on the counter, he sighed loudly and put his head on the cool table.

"What's with him?" the young detective asked the returning blonde, he was usually the grim and sour one, though Roxas wasn't the cheeriest fellow in the world, right now he made Zexion look like jolly Saint Nick.

"Hmm?" she looked toward the counter and saw her brother "Oh, Roxas…" she said, handing the detective his towel "Well, he's been pretty down since Axel moved away, it's like he took his happiness with him, it's sad really, not even sea salt ice cream helps him…"

"Sea salt ice cream!" Roxas cried out, it was his and his best friend's favorite ice cream, even if Axel didn't like it at first.

"Hey blondie, stop with the dramatics, you're scaring my costumers" Xigbar told him, handing him a cup of hot chocolate.

"Yes please, some people actually have important work to do" Vexen said from his table, annoyance written all over his face.

"No one asked you" Xigbar retorted, while Vexen only glared and went back to his work.

"Thank you" Zexion told the girl, giving the towel back.

"Sure" she smiled "Do you want something to drink?" she asked.

"All right, give me the usual"

"One hot chocolate with whipped cream and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream coming up" she giggled; no one would look at Zexion and think sweet tooth.

The young detective sat on a booth near the window. He saw how the rain poured down hard and the sky seemed to keep getting darker, he dismissed it quickly though, he couldn't control everything or do everything, so trying to change the weather by thought was not going to change anything. He slumped into his chair and massaged his eyelids, remembering what he had done earlier.

~o~

He had been running through the Sunset Terrace on the other side of town, though today it looked more like Very Dark-Stub your toe on a rock-Terrace, after what seemed to be a pitch-black dog with yellow eyes. It finally stopped running when it saw it had nowhere to go, it turned around and snarled at his pursuer, its paws and fangs stained with blood.

"Nowhere to run…" Zexion breathed out

He had seen the dog ripping out at a person, a little girl, the monster seemed to have been trying to rip the girls heart out, and succeeded, but Zexion wouldn't let that thing live after that.

As he took a breather the black dog rushed and lunged at him with great speed, Zexion's chest as its target.

"Not a chance!" he quickly took out his small lexicon out of his back pocket, which grew to normal size in his hand "Protect!" he summoned a shield in front of himself and the dog smacked itself hard at it, a normal animal would have bled, but all the animal did was whimper and get back up "_What the hell is it?_" the young detective thought.

The animal, if you could call it that, tried again, but Zexion dodged it this time, landing near the small monument of the town clock tower. He pressed his hand on the words of his lexicon, and out came a thin rapier sword.

"C'mon, I dare you" he smirked

The dog snarled at the dare and began to zigzag around, and though Zexion moved with good speed, his impediment from his right eye was notable, the dog attacked from the right and managed to knock him down.

"Ah!" he yelled out, the dog trying to get his fangs on him, but he kept him back with his arm "Aero!" he casted a wind spell, which swirled around him and knocked the animal back "_I'd better be careful…this thing is smart…_" he stood defensively while the black dog seemed to smirk and mock him with its grin.

"I'll make you laugh…" he then flicked his sword slightly "Fire Flash!" he then sent a wave from his sword, licked with flames toward it, the animal didn't seem to expect it and was engulfed in the blast; when it cleared, all that was left was the burn mark "Nothing?" he breathed out "Not even blood…or a carcass…" he kept on as he walked over and analyzed the mark "…Hmm?" he then looked upward and saw the sky roar suddenly and rain began to pour, and seeing as the mark began to wash away he left, offering a silent prayer for the girl that lost her heart.

~o~

As he came back to reality, Zexion found his hot chocolate waiting for him and Naminé sitting across from him, smiling.

"So tell me, did the thing that attacked you look something like this?" she asked, flipping over her sketchbook for him to see, he was amazed at the detail she put into it, the black dog (who looked more wolfish than anything) with its piercing yellow eyes.

"It scares me how you do this…" he stated; Naminé usually asks people to describe things for her and she sketches exactly that, but she has an odd ability, among others, of looking into people's eyes and draw what they are thinking.

"Well you're an open book when you daydream, at least for me" she added, taking back her book "So, what happened?" she asked, adding something with a red pencil, he knew what she meant.

"The thing attacked a little girl, you'll probably find out tomorrow in the news" he began, sipping his chocolate and giving the 1-in a-million chance smirk-smile "It took out her heart…" he said grimly.

"Her heart?" she looked at him, shocked "What for? And only that?"

"Only that, but, the heart I speak of is more of the light in people's hearts, not the organ itself, understand? Making it even weirder…" Naminé blinked, she then looked through her sketchbook and found something she drew two weeks ago "Do you mean this?" she showed him a picture of many beady eyed creatures that seemed to swarm over a person, and a pink, shining heart floated out from him as his face contorted in pain.

"Exactly…" he blinked "You really are a scary person Naminé…" she only giggled at that comment.

"Just as long as you don't call me a 'witch' like most people do, I won't hurt you" she added, leaving the booth and going toward another brave costumer that came in.

Everything seemed fine now, thought the pale haired detective, but as he happily drank his hot beverage someone screamed outside, and a pack of those black dogs seemed to be running amuck outside.

"Stay inside, lock the doors and above else don't panic!" Zexion ordered, Naminé ushered the people to the back with Xigbar, Roxas was too zoned out to move, and Vexen hissed at being interrupted, though seemed very curious about what was happening.

Zexion walked outside and saw at least 5 of those things walking around, the same all of them, though one, seemingly the leader, was larger and seemed to have a dark mane behind him, his yellow eyes looked normal, not beady, and he had an ornate design on his head and a symbol on his hind left leg.

"Ahhh!!!" someone yelled beside him, it was Roxas with a kendo stick in hand.

"Hey! Roxas!" Zexion called out as the blonde boy bashed his wooden sword into one of them and smacked it into a parked car "Are you crazy?!" he went up to him and shook him "Do you have a death wish or something?"

"Leave me alone! You wouldn't understand…" he looked like he was about to cry again, but instead turned around and bashed another one who was coming up behind them "Besides…I need to take out my anger on something…" he stated,

"Fine…" he sighed "Stay close to me and stay sharp" he told him, Roxas nodded while Zexion took out his lexicon; the dogs gathered around them, the leader simply watching from a distance, the other four circled them.

"A book?" Roxas asked "My sister told me that you used a book, but, I thought she was kidding" he chuckled.

"Well, it'll probably last longer than your wooden stick…" he extended his left hand "Crash! Shocking light…Thunder!" his arm swirled with energy and from his finger tips a surge of lighting was blasted, hitting the ground as the black hounds dodged the blast.

"Whoah??? How…" but the young blonde didn't have time to react as one of the hounds charged at him, he rolled to the side to dodge it and stood back close to his friend.

"It's called Magic, not everyone can do it though…" three of the four hounds leaped at them, but Zexion used his protect spell once more and they bashed themselves into it.

"Nice!" Roxas smirked, looking at each of them, they looked bizarre, and as if their limbs were out of place "They're hurt?"

"I guess so…" Zexion didn't know what to make of it, but they seemed to be, though they quickly regenerated and growled "…Guess not…" he said in a huff.

Then the two decided to go on the offensive, Roxas charged in and began bashing the monsters with his kendo stick, while Zexion tried again and again with his Thunder spell but missed every time.

"Watch out!" the pale haired one alerted, Roxas got tackled from behind.

"Ah! Get off!" he growled, his heart beating fast as the monster tried to eat his face off; the kendo stick wasn't lasting long either "Help!" he cried out, but Zexion had his hands full as well, the Alpha dog seemed to be smirking; The hound managed to scratch Roxas here and there, and he felt weak every time, as if something was going to burst out of him "Ahhh!!" he yelled, frustration, anger and fear mixed in it.

"Damn it!" Zexion cursed out loud; his lexicon's pages began to turn by themselves, it's master's anger surging through the pages "Magnet!" he called out, a light shot from his book and the three hounds near him got pulled into it, he then ran toward Roxas, but the Alpha dog stepped in.

"_His heart belongs to us…do not interfere…_" the leader said.

"What?" Zexion stared, with his good eye in shock: did this thing just speak? But he quickly took back his nerve, Roxas was in trouble "Out of my way…" he growled, but then the other monsters had jumped down; the spell wore off and the pale haired mage was boxed in.

"Dammit! Get off!" Roxas yelled once more, smacking the animal, who whimpered with every blow, the thing growled once more then tried with it's fangs to make his prey shut up, Roxas looked with wide eyes as it got near "_Axel!!!!_" he screamed in his head, but then a something crashed and everything went silent; the monster fell with a thud next to him, bleeding "Huh?" he looked to forward and Zexion turned as well.

"All right you punks, it's time to get out of my friggin' town!" it was Xigbar, a handgun in his hand.

"Roxas!" Naminé called out, running toward her brother "Are you all right?"

"Not really…" he smiled and then decided to faint with a slight smirk on his face; Naminé stood by him and tried to move him.

"Fall! Chilling Hail! Blizzard!" a chilling breeze blew around Zexion and a block of ice crashed on top of the monsters, except the Alpha, who dodged it; Zexion ran back toward Roxas and helped Naminé, while Xigbar kept a close eye at the Alpha.

"_Well…this wasn't what was expected…it seems I'll go hungry today…_" it said, and disappeared into black spot on the floor, leaving it's four pack members dead on the ground.

"…I thought you'd never take up a gun again" Zexion huffed, looking at Xigbar.

"Special occasion…" the man said "Now, let's get this kid inside…" both he and Zexion took Roxas inside, and after offering a free cup of coffee and two pieces of cake, Vexen agreed to tend to Roxas' wounds.

"He'll live, get him to a hospital as soon as possible" was all he said after he was done, and then proceeded to leave the place in a hurry, reminding Xigbar that he owed him.

"How are you feeling?" the blonde girl asked the detective.

"I'll be all right, and you?"

"I'm still a little scared…I couldn't stop Roxas from charging out like that…and he almost…" she sniffed and tried to stop herself from sobbing, "I'm a horrible sister…"

"No you aren't, so quit crying, he'll be fine, and you'll be able to take care of him, all right?" Xigbar said reassuringly, Zexion was never good at that sort of thing.

"Will you be all right here?" he suddenly asked.

"Sure" the man with the eye patch answered.

"Good, I'll clean up the mess outside and leave, thanks for everything" he told him "Call me when he comes to" he told the girl, who nodded.

As Zexion left, the rain seemingly stopping, he pondered what the hell just happened: He got attacked by a pack of black dogs or wolves, the big one seemed to have intelligence and could talk, Roxas was almost killed and Xigbar shot a gun after two years and 5 months of not doing so "_It's definitely been getting weirder and weirder…"_

As Zexion walked toward uptown Twilight Town, he noticed the new building, a tall one, almost as tall as the clock tower; it belonged to a company known as Shinra, which was based at Radiant Garden. "_They say weird things happen to those mixed up with them…even though they provide many with technology and such…the rumors of mad experiments never cease…_"

He walked away from the building, as he did though he thought he'd seen someone on at the top looking down "_I really am tired…_" he thought and left.

* * *

A/N: Review Please!


	2. Chapter 2: Shinra Returns Hojo of Shinra

Here's the second part, enjoy the new revelations!

**Edit:** Chapter has been Edited and reviewed.

* * *

Chapter II: Shinra Returns-Hojo of Shinra

Test tubes and examination tables; gauges and knobs, anything and everything that made up a laboratory was inside Shinra's Science Division, which was moved here to Twilight Town from Radiant Garden. It's leading scientist was a man named Hojo, a madman who tried everything in his power to succeed the two men that came before him: Professor Gast, creator of the greatest hero of all time and Ansem the Wise, the genius who created the Heartless theory and who brought in the Gummi Ship system; he had big shoes to fill.

Hojo took it upon himself to advance Ansem's research on the Heartless, so much that he began experimenting with them, using the accident the man and his 6 apprentices caused as a base as well as Gast's Jenova theory; which had allowed him to create unspeakable things.

As he walked around, the door to the lab slid open and Vexen came inside in a huff, while, to his surprise, the black dog he had seen earlier walked inside, through what seemed a black portal.

"What's going on?" the scientist added in a huff "I thought you weren't going to release these things here"

"Calm yourself Vexen, it is merely a small exercise, no one will notice, after all, they are merely animals" Hojo added with a psychotic smile "Well? How did it go?" he asked the aforementioned animal who opted to lie down and lick his paw.

"I'm famished…" he admitted, "We were…stopped right in the middle of feeding…"

"What?" the man asked surprised.

"Well now, didn't you know?" Vexen smiled cheekily, Hojo's mistakes amused him "Apparently there's someone here capable of killing your pets…"

"Impossible! Only someone with the same power can destroy the Heartless! Who dares?" he yelled, feelings of inadequacy filling him.

"It seems he's a detective, I've seen him frequently in a small café…he wields magic Hojo…" the scientist stopped in his tracks and smiled devilishly.

"Magic you say?" Vexen nodded.

"He seems to posses similar traits to me…" he added as-a-matter-of-factly.

"What?!" the man screeched "What do you mean?"

"Please keep it down…" the black hound whined.

"Only Lexaeus, Xaldin, Xigbar and I were…resurrected by you Hojo…Xehanort was never himself again…as for Ienzo…well…" the man smirked, amused as how his 'creator' fumed.

The six apprentices of Ansem had been killed in a lab explosion after the lead apprentice, Xehanort, had gone mad with power. All that remained of him was half his upper-body and his head, kept alive by Hojo. Four of the other's were resurrected and given new names, and to separate them from their original selves, Hojo called them Nobodies, because they were made from people who in reality did not exist anymore, the fifth member was never found though.

"So, you're telling me someone out there is destroying my creations?" Hojo asked.

"Not because they want to, Hojo, but because you're putting the town in danger, this…Zexion…has dedicated his life to protecting the town from the paranormal, read the newspapers once in a while, they're very informative" Vexen berated.

"Silence! Leave my sight, both of you! I need to think…" the man left toward another door, into his office, while both of them seemed to grin widely.

"I believe that went well, don't you?" the hound said.

"Yes, it is always refreshing to see the man won't amount to much…but, I have to admit, when it comes to making things he's brilliant, even if they are screwed up…"

"Like the little 'boys' locked in the basement?"

"Yes, like them…" he smirked "Well…back to work…" he sighed and left, heading for the elevator.

* * *

A/N: Review please!


	3. Chapter 3: Specimen IX

Here's Chapter III, with even more goodness.

**Edit: **Chapter has been Edited and reviewed

* * *

Chapter III: Specimen IX

He felt completely numb, he couldn't move, he felt heavy and to top it all off, completely and utterly wet. He heard voices, one male and one female, they seemed amused, but he couldn't open his eyes.

"Specimen IX...brought in from Edea's Orphanage on the outskirts of Radiant Garden" said the female voice who seemed to be reading something.

"Just like us…" said the male, who had a very deep and commanding voice.

"You know if the old broad were still around she wouldn't have allowed this…" the young woman said, sounding sad "Anyway, let me see…" she seemed to go through papers while the other one began to touch the young man on the examination table.

"Kinda cute ain't he?" he asked chuckling; the girl just rolled her eyes.

"Whatever…" she went on "Specimen IX seems to be taking to the experiment well, the injection of Jenova cells as well as Heartless DNA has not been rejected as of yet…What is this psycho trying to do to us?"

"Who knows? I'm actually grateful…" the young man said, playing with the hair of the unconscious youth.

"Why the hell for? Do you know how it feels to have PMS 24/7 simply because now I have an 'electrifying' personality?"

"Darling, you were always on PMS even before this…"

"I know, but now I can actually rip you limb from limb…" she hopped off the table and walked around, reading some more "As with Specimens XI and XII…that'd be you and me…a green materia has been inserted into his body and has seemed to meld with his soul rather well, but, since materia is made from the energy source that opposes Jenova it has taken a slow amount of time to evolve…I wonder what he put in this time?" they both then heard a voice coming near to the room they were in.

"Time to go" the man announced with a grin, opening a dark portal and both of them rushed inside "Leave those" he told her and she did, not before making a small mess.

"There, let's go my dear Marly" and they left.

~o~

Vexen came inside the Experiment room in the 8th floor where he was conducting an experiment that Professor Hojo had wanted to continue.

"Good Morning Number IX" the man said coldly, he only saw his subjects as nothing more than puppets to be used and tossed away; he looked around and saw the mess that was made, he began fuming "Guards!" he yelled and then left the room.

"…ugh…" the young man on the examination table groaned, he managed to open one eye and began to look around, tables with tubes and liquids and stuff everywhere, papers thrown around the room, he then tried to sit up but groaned in pain, his stomach was heavy and his head pounded as well "Where am I?" he thought as he lay back down.

"Incompetent fools…" Vexen grumbled as he came back in "Hmm? You're awake are you?" he walked closer and looked him over; the young man felt the cold hands of what he deemed an ugly old man with long dirty blonde hair and an inverted doctor color scheme "It seems you're taking the treatment quite well…though it seems you're retaining water…and sweating it out twice as much…"

"I'm pregnant…what the hell!?" he yelled in his head, his eyes concerned

"It's to be expected, a Water materia was inserted into you, you'll take to it soon…" he then sighed "At least you can take solace in the fact that you can still feel many things, where as I, with a Ice materia embedded in me cannot…I'd probably melt…a theory best left not proven…" he then began mixing and pouring stuff, the young man couldn't see him, but he mustered enough courage to talk.

"What…my…name?" he blubbered

"Name?" Vexen laughed loudly "My dear 'puppet' you have no need for a name, you're practically dead, you, according to the norms of the world do not exist anymore…well…after Hojo's SOLDIERS were done with you, who would?" he said, the young man didn't really understand, but it hurt him to be called a puppet "Hmmm…it seems your heart is still intact as well…the Heartless DNA within you should have taken care of that, but it seems the light of your heart is keeping it at bay…I wonder…" he then snapped his fingers, one of those black hounds appeared "Devour him" he ordered and the dog snarled.

Jumping on the table, the dog began to smell for the heart, he was confused over the many chemicals, but the smell of a pure, light-filled heart was unmistakable; the dog licked and opened it's mouth, the young man yelled in horror and smacked the thing away with great force; Vexen only smiled at the display, taking it in and making mental notes.

"Are you crazy?!" the young man yelled "What are you doing?!"

"Just an experiment…" the dog snarled again and lunged at the boy, missing.

"Get away from me!!" he yelled and the sprinkler system seemed to turn on automatically.

"Hmph…very nice…" Vexen smirked and froze the water coming out of the sprinklers "But I'm getting annoyed! Do it!" he ordered once more, he summoned two more hounds and then cornered the young lab rat; the hounds began to scratch at him, he was helpless, and with another yell the room was flooded, the door bursting open, and everything inside was washed out.

The boy limped out of the room, only a hospital robe on him. He saw the 'doctor' on the floor, out cold, while the dogs seemed to have disappeared.

"I have to get out of here…" he whispered and began running, slipping slightly on the clean floors while he did.

He ran toward the elevator and sighed in relief, he knew he'd have to get to the bottom floor, but would he make it? He pressed the lobby button and decided to check himself, see if there was any damage.

"…I'm…naked…" he stated flatly, and then blushed "And my butt is showing!" he tried to cover himself more but the robe was way too small "Dammit…now I'll be flashing people…" he noticed the elevator stopped at the fifth floor, he hitched his breath and prayed he'd just disappear into nothing; no such luck.

"Hey! What're you doing here!?" exclaimed one of the Shinra guards dressed in blue.

"Sorry, gotta go, nice to meet you, bye!" the youth exclaimed in one breath and managed to close the door in time.

"Sound the alarm!" the guard said and an alarm blared throughout the building, the lights in the elevator turned red as well.

"Shit, shit, shiiiit…Ima get caught!" he began to panic.

The elevator stopped on the second floor and the power seemed to have cut off, only the secondary power was on. The elevator opened and when he came out he saw guards strewn all over the floor, blood everywhere. The blond youth walked around, shaking from the sight, trying to find something that would get him out of there.

"This place sure is creepy…" he mumbled.

As he walked he found more and more bodies, some more mangled than others, one guy had his face ripped out, while another was missing an important part of his lower body "Yeouch…" as he walked around he heard shouts and footsteps from behind "Check this way!" he heard them say, when he did he broke into a sprint, going through bloodied hallway after hallway, until he bumped into something, but he never hit the ground.

"Uh…" he slowly opened one eye and saw two blue one's staring back "Please! Let me go!" he panicked and started flailing around "I don't want to go back there! Ugly dogs and rabid doctor!! I mean…Rabid dogs and…ugly doctor…" he did see blue eyes but nothing else, the man wore a dark green bandana over his head and his dark coat with a fur collar covering his face completely, except for the eyes of course.

"…Don't worry, I won't take you back…" the man announced, his voice was smooth and calming.

"T-Thanks…" he said, he then blushed as he saw the young man hold him close "Um…"

"Quiet…" he said, turning around, the guards approaching.

"Have you seen specimen VII or IX around here?" one of the guards asked.

"No…" the man turned around to face them, holding nothing "I'm still searching…"

"Sir!" the man saluted "We'll continue our search!"

"Please do" the man with blue eyes said and watched his subordinates leave; he turned back and walked toward the end of the hallway, a large window with a crack on it blew wind and rain into the building "Now…what will you do?" he thought to himself.

~o~

As the young man ran through the damp streets of Twilight Town, he remembered what the man in the coat had told him when he let him get away: "At the end of the hallway is a window, break it and use your power to get down safely, afterwards run for the nearby woods, on the outskirts of town, someone will help you there, now go" he then stalled the guards while he made his escape.

As he ran through the rain filled town, he found himself in the waterways of Twilight Town, lost.

"Where…am…I?" he asked, panting, feeling exhausted, he walked over a corner where little water run and relaxed into it.

"Maybe a nap won't hurt…" he yawned, unbeknownst to him, as he drifted to sleep, he dissolved into the water, a nightmare causing his screams of pain echo through the hallow place like a ghosts' cry.

* * *

A/N: Review please!


	4. Chapter 4: Waterlogged Case

A/N: I am very sorry for my absense, but life (and romance 3) has caught up with me and sadly has taken me from you. In all honesty I have at least 10 chapters of this story written, but because of the low responses I've been getting I decided to not upload it anymore, because honestly, nobody saying anything says they don't really care (thanks to my ONE reviewer though, it swayed my decision). So anyhow, here's Chapter IV.

Note: The last names of the two introduced characters (you'll know) are not their real last names, just showbiz talk, k? Also forgive any gramatical errors, I uploaded this during class XD. As for my DN Angel fan fiction, thank you all who have reviewed, faved and alerted, there will be a new chapter, it's halfway done, I just need to finish it XP

* * *

Chapter IV: Waterlogged Case

It was Tuesday morning and it was the same morning every single day, but Zexion liked the monotonous ways of the town, not like the unbearable heat of the Destiny Islands, or the almost snobbish people of the Radiant Garden. He looked out of his apartment window, with a nice view of the clock tower, he wore his dark blue PJ's, the top open slightly as he let in the morning breeze, he turned around his small apartment: His bed next to him, bed completely made, to his front, on the wall a tall bookcase full of books, mysteries, sci-fi, you name it, he's read them all. A nightstand next to his bed, with a drawer holding his Journal, which he uses to keep track of his life, though he has an almost photographic memory, he seems to forget some things through the passage of time, his dresser of course was in front of his bed, his normal clothes set on top of it neatly "I'm a neat freak, I know…"

He opened the door and wandered through the small hallway, leading to his kitchen, a rice cooker in the corner, shelves, a sink and fridge, which he opened and took out a leftover carton of Chinese food. He took out a portable stovetop and turned it on, putting the food to heat up over it.

He passed on to the living room and turned on the TV, the morning news was on, he turned it up as he did his morning routine: "Hello and Good Morning, Tidus Bluewater here with the morning news, today's top story: a small child was found dead this morning by Sunset Terrace, the autopsy made by the police proves that she was attacked by a rabid animal, her internal organs slashed to pieces; The police chief, Lt. Wallace, has stated for everyone to keep a look-out, to not travel unsupervised, and to try and be inside their houses before sundown…"

"That was quick…" Zexion mumbled, drying his hair.

"In other news it seems something has happened in the Shinra building late last night, one of the patients from their Neural Treatment Facility escaped and is currently in the run. No official statements or information has been made other than this from an unknown source, again, Lt. Wallace advices people to not wander around the town aimlessly and to keep an eye out for anyone out of the ordinary, and that is all for this morning's main story, now we move on to Rikku Sunshine with the weather…"

"Such colorful names…" Zexion rolled his eyes as he ate his leftover Chinese food, simply in jeans and a t-shirt "But…an escaped person from the Shinra building: coincidence? I don't think so…" he took his coat then and left, making sure to put the stove top away, throw out the food carton, clean the plate he used and lock up.

He walked through the streets of uptown Twilight Town, heading toward the train station to head to his agency. He had stopped by Merlin's bookstore and picked up another book which he read through his walk, saying hi to passerby's.

~o~

He finally got to his Agency, after trying not to kill a little boy who kept asking about his hair and his right eye during the train ride, he said good morning to the three people who worked for him, but only one answered.

"Good morning Zexion" said Olette, a local girl with long brown hair and green eyes, who wore a work vest and jeans when she was here, and had volunteered with her friends Pence and Hayner to work for him; he only said yes because of her persistence, that, and Naminé vouched for them "I have your morning coffee and the paper waiting for you in the office"

"Thank you, you're always on the mark in the morning..." he said as he passed her, book still in hand "…Did you remember to get me those book marks?" he asked from his office

"I did, they're looking pretty cool this time" she giggled giving them to him, they were black and white with an odd white symbol on them

"Where are the others?" he asked, sitting down at his small desk

"Pence and Hayner went to check out the town, getting testimonies from the people around town, as well as pictures. You know those two, they want to be your real partners some day" she smiled, Zexion smirked and sighed happily; this was one of the few places he felt at peace, and Olette shared his cleaning habits, so he never had to worry too much, now Hayner and Pence, the two boys; the blonde firecracker and the curious pudgy dark-haired one were trouble, always leaping in head first without thinking, but it was their energy that sometimes kept him going

"All right then, keep your eyes and ears open as well, if Shinra is involved I expect a call…"

"Right" nodded the brown haired girl

~o~

As Noon rolled in, Olette and Zexion dined alone, which was weird since the two boys never passed up free food. Zexion's office was located on the third floor of a multi-business building; it was fairly big place, a small front office with Olette's desk, four waiting chairs and Zexion's office in the back.

"Hey…" a voice said, closing the door behind him.

"Hey Roxas" Olette smiled, blushing slightly "Do you want some sushi?"

"No thanks" he said, monotone.

"Feeling better?" the pale haired man asked "How's your sister?"

"Yes…and no…" he answered, sitting down on Olette's desk "Naminé's fine…"

"Still bummed?" Olette asked "Don't worry Roxas, you'll see him again" "_Not too soon I hope…_"

"Yeah…thanks…" he said, slumping his head on the desk.

"_Damn that Axel for making my Roxas depressed_!" the young girl thought, smashing her sushi roll with her chopsticks, Zexion smirked amused, he knew of the girl's crush on the young blonde.

"Hey!" came Hayner's loud voice, wearing his signature camouflage clothes "Guess what we found out!!" he said excitedly "Oh, hey Roxas…" he said, now munching on Olette's sushi "Still bummed?" he asked, getting the finger as a response, the boy just chuckled.

"What is it?" Zexion asked.

"Hayner…wait…up…" Pence panted, he got winded running after his friend.

"Good morning Pence…" Roxas added.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Zexion asked once more.

"Oh yeah! Well, Pence and I were running around town and we went downtown to Sunset Terrace, and the kids around there told use they've been hearing a lot of noises from the Waterway, like ghostly wails and stuff, isn't it awesome?!" Hayner expressed.

"What does that have to do with anything?" their boss added.

"What?! C'mon! Girl got mauled last night, Shinra dude busted out, there has to be a connection!" he yelled, munching another peace of sushi, choking this time "MMFF!!!" Pence and Olette quickly came to his aid, while Zexion went to get his coat; he sighed in relief as he swallowed the thing "Thanks…"

"Let's go you two, Olette…keep Roxas busy…or something" he added.

"Right, boss!" she giggled, smiling widely.

"C'mon Pence!" Hayner ran out, after Zexion.

"More running…" he groaned.

"Bye! Be safe guys!" Olette said, then looked at Roxas "Ohh Roxy…" she giggled.

"Hmmm?" he looked upward and saw the girl, wide grin on her face "Ah, damn…"

~o~

Zexion, Hayner and Pence finally headed into the Waterway, the two boys walked in excitedly as their boss walked behind them, keeping a good eye out. When they came in they quickly rushed into the back.

"You coming?" Hayner asked.

"This is your case, I'm just here as back-up, be careful" he told them with an amused grin, and both of them smiled and ran excitedly inside, Pence snapping pictures the whole way through.

"It's probably just a prank or something anyway" he sighed, taking out his book and sitting near the small canal, as Zexion read his book he began feeling weird, his ears began to feel warm and a sharp pain came to his forehead "What…?"

He began seeing things: a stone house, kids, a woman's face, he felt panic, fear and worn-out, then…nothing. As he tried to compose himself, he saw someone in front of him, close to the wall.

"…Please…don't hurt me," the young blonde man said, his head was downcast and clutched his hair tightly.

"…Who are you?" Zexion asked, cautious but curious.

"I'm sorry…I won't run away anymore…" he sniffed, shaking his head.

"…I haven't hurt you, don't worry," he said, approaching cautiously "Now…be still, I'm only going to…"

"Let me be!!" he yelled, the water rushing through the water way formed into a wall of rushing liquid, while three giant water snakes came out of them, swallowing the young man.

"Damn it…" he cursed "This must be the Shinra runaway…" Zexion raised his hand and pages swirled around his arm, then in a flash of almost non-existant light his lexicon appeared in his hand, open with the pages flowing freely.

"Hey!" Hayner called out, Pence behind "What's going on?!"

"Stay back!" their boss said "Go hide" they both nodded and ran to a corner.

The young man wailed in pain as his nightmares continued, the snakes began to take out their fear on Zexion, pelting him with water.

"Shell!" Zexion called out, a red shield made to stop the elements was made in front of him, but the other two snakes added pressure to it; it began to crack "He's strong…for being mentally unstable he hasn't lost any power…" he then remembered simple chemistry "Of course…" he took down the shield and dodged the water "Thunder!" he called out, the bolt crashing with the water, but the young man yelled in pain, stating: "It hurts! Make it stop!" Zexion hesitated, he didn't mean it, and was taken off guard, getting rammed into the water wall.

"Ugh…not…good…" and again the snakes began to throw water at him "…Blizzard!" he called out; the cold wind froze all the water, but as soon as it froze was as soon as they broke free.

"…No…I won't…I won't let you hurt her!" the blonde yelled out, the water seemingly rushing faster, the snakes hissing at their target.

"Hey boss! What's up with him?" Hayner said.

"Yeah! He seems…well…psycho…" Pence added, snapping another picture.

"Apparently…" he dodged a tail swipe "…Past…" and another "…Trau…AH!" he got smacked against the rushing water "…ma…" he glared at them.

"Sorry" they whispered and went back to their corner.

"I'm sorry…" Zexion groaned, getting up and searching for something in his back pocket "But I believe it's time I ended this…" he took out a tall blue card "…I have some questions for you!" it was a Tarot card, with a blue figure on it; the card was old and torn though "Hope this works…" the lexicon's pages began to flow quickly, energy streaming out "Heed my call Winter Goddess…Freeze my enemies with your cold justice…Shiva, lady of ice come forth!" the card disappeared and in front of Zexion a woman with blue skin, hair and an almost see through bikini appeared "Diamond Dust!" the man called and the female figure froze all of the water with subtle movements of her hands, then with a snap of her fingers broke it all; the Shinra runaway fell to his knees, weak, and all of the water continued it's course "Finally…" he sighed.

"Whoah...dude…" Hayner smiled, totally impressed "What was that?!"

"Awesome! One for the scrapbook" Pence said, taking a picture of Shiva and Zexion before she disappeared.

"A summoning spell, now stay back you two…" he ordered, slowly walking toward the other man.

Zexion knelt down and stared at him, he lay on the ground with his back to him and as he made his way down, Zexion felt a rush go through his face and a blush form on it "…b-b…butt…" he gulped "Um…" he blinked "His…butt is…" he turned the young man over and held him up "H-Hey…" he cleared his throat "Are you all right?" he asked, calm now.

The other stirred slightly and began to open his eyes "…Who…?" he whispered.

"You're all right then…I'm sorry if I was a little rough on you, but, you didn't give me much of a choice…" he smirked.

"Uh…" he slowly opened his eyes then "Am…I in heaven…?" he asked.

"Not quite…" Zexion replied; the young man was stunned, an almost pale skinned man, with lilac hair and the most beautiful blue eye he ever saw "Come on, I'll help you up" Zexion offered his hand and helped the man up, putting his arm around his waist and propping the blonde's right arm over his shoulder.

"T-thanks…" the blonde said, he looked at his new friend fully, his aqua-green eyes greeting him with a smile; Zexion felt as if the ocean that were those eyes would swallow him whole, he was mesmerized, until a slight grumbling snapped him out of it "I-I guess I'm hungry…" he chuckled.

"Dude, we got plenty of food," Hayner added with a smile.

"Say cheese" Pence added, taking another picture.

"What's that for?" his boss asked, slightly annoyed.

"For a job well done" he smiled.

"Whatever…oh…Hayner…" he handed the young man to the boys while he took off his coat and gave it to him "We don't want to be stopped for indecent exposure…"

"R-right…sorry…" he blushed; Hayner snickered, he kinda liked the view.

Again Zexion helped the man walked and said: "Let's go"

As the four of them walked outside, a man watched them from a rooftop, the same man that helped the young blonde escape. He took out his mobile and dialed a number "Well I found him, he wasn't in the woods like you said…In the waterway…No, I cannot bring him, someone found him…Not Shinra…have you seen the local papers?" he seemed to talk to a man with an impatient air, it wasn't Hojo nor Vexen "Yes, that's him, Zexion the local detective…I believe if I were to take him it would cause an unnecessary fuss, besides, don't you want to ultimately meet him too?" the man smirked, unseen by his covered face "Fine then, I'll go back to my regular duties" he put his mobile back and left, the Shinra building his next stop.

~o~

The young detective, his two companions and their unknown friend finally boarded the train back to uptown; it was still early afternoon so most people were at work, no little boy to bother Zexion right now.

Hayner sat in front of the two eldest and began asking the other blonde some questions:

"All right then…" he began, taking out his pen and notebook "What's your name?"

"Um…I…don't…remember…" he stated embarrassingly.

"Oh…ok…um…" he put his pen to his chin while he thought "Do you know where you came from, like your home?"

"Uh…I don't…know…" the blonde lowered his head, tightening his grip on his savior/butt-kicker's hand.

"That's enough Hayner…" Zexion said "…he apparently doesn't remember, there's no need to force the answers out of him, you'd do more damage than good"

"All right…" he pouted, then smirked "So, um…why are you two holding hands?"

"Hmmm?" Zexion quirked his visible eyebrow and noticed, they were "Um…" he then let go, grabbed his book and put his nose into it, blushing madly.

"S-Sorry…" the blonde next to him muttered.

"Q-Quite all right…" the other stuttered; Hayner snickered and elbowed Pence, who smirked.

"Quiet…" Zexion demanded, and everyone did, though the one next to him giggled at that.

~o~

They stopped at Zexion's agency and left the newcomer to sleep on the couch in the back office, while the other's talked about the situation.

"Where's Roxas?" Pence asked.

"He's…" Olette began, but then they heard the toilet flush from the back office bathroom "…in the bathroom"

"Is he ok?" Hayner asked.

"Um, bad sushi…" Olette said.

"More like choked by sushi…" he muttered "Who's the guy on the couch?"

"That's what we're about to discuss…" Zexion said his reading glasses on.

"Um…what's with the glasses?" Roxas began.

"Too much strain on one eye gives me a headache, that's why the glasses, now…" he began"…The young man Hayner, Pence and I found in the Waterway could possibly be the Shinra runaway…"

"Dude! That'd be so cool! Do you think they'd give us a reward?" Hayner cut in.

"I highly doubt it…" Olette sighed.

"May I continue?" Zexion's eye twitched, the other's nodded "All right then…he is unstable right now, mentally speaking, and I highly doubt he's a normal amnesia patient and seeing as he's from Shinra it's not completely odd that he exhibits the powers he did at the waterway…"

"Powers?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah! The guy could like move water around" said Pence excitedly "It was so cool!"

"Anyway…what I'm proposing is for us to keep this quiet, I do not think it would be wise to give him back too soon, who knows what they might do to him? I'd also like to know what's going on in there, if there really is a Neural Treatment Facility and because I simply don't feel comfortable giving him back in the state he's in, I'd like to know what he knows…"

"It's our duty as detectives! Right?" Hayner expressed as he did an air-fist.

"I agree, it sounds intriguing" Olette smiled.

"Ditto!" Pence said.

"But…won't they notice you have him?" Roxas broke in "I mean, they have a file and everything don't they?"

"You're right…what do you suggest?" Zexion asked.

"Leave him to us" Naminé who appeared out of nowhere appeared with a bag full of products "Come on Olette" she grabbed the girls' hand and winked back at them as they closed the door. The young man stretched and looked up at the two girls who grinned widely "He-llo…" he said as he got mauled by the two girls.

"While they do that…" Zexion went on "I'd like you to take this munny and get some clothes for him, he seems to be bigger than me so buy it a little larger, all right?" he handed Hayner and Pence a handful of munny and they ran out muttering something about pot stickers.

"What about me?" Roxas asked.

"You can help me with the filing" he smirked.

"Pass…" Roxas chuckled.

"Ahhh!!!!" the male in the other room yelled, "This is awesome!!!"

"What the…?" Zexion sat up and opened the door while Roxas laughed his ass off "What's going on in here?"

"Hey hey! Look look!" the man expressed, his long dirty blonde hair had been tamed, sort of, he now sported a mohawk/mullet, long in the back, short on top and the sides "Isn't this the coolest thing you've ever seen? Not a mullet, not a mohawk, but both!" he beamed.

"Um…yeah…" Zexion smiled, amused, the other giggled.

"All it takes is scissors, hair gel and a lot of imagination" Naminé said.

"I don't even want to know how you came over here like that…"

"Oh, that's easy" Olette added as she cleaned the hair on the floor "I told her to come over so we could do our hair later"

"Oh…" Zexion said, blinking "What?" he asked the dirty blonde who was kind of into his face.

"Um…I'm kinda hungry…" he admitted shyly.

"All right, Hayner and Pence should be back soon with some clothes for you and then we'll get you something" the other nodded and ran into the bathroom.

"Woo-hoo!" he yelled.

Zexion rolled his eyes, normally he'd be getting a headache right now, too much energy in the room, but, that blonde…he made him feel oddly calm…

~o~

Evening soon came, and the sun was beginning to set as well, the young blonde walked alongside his lilac haired savior along the streets of uptown Twilight Town, where all of the shops were. He wore a light blue t-shirt and jeans, with a blue hooded jacket over him, a wide grin in his face.

"I don't think I've felt this happy or free in a long time" he admitted.

"I'd guess not seeing as where you came from" the man next to him added.

"Hmm? You mean the Waterway?" he cocked his head to his side.

"No…not the…do you remember where you were before that?" Zexion asked.

"Hmm…" the blonde closed his eyes and tried to think, but all he got was a headache "Not really…"

"Are you sure?" he asked again, getting even more curious by the minute, the blonde simply nodded "I see…oh wait, let's stop here" he said suddenly, stopping at Merlin's bookstore once more.

When they entered, the blonde saw to his right a simple desk, but, everywhere else all you could see were shelf after shelf of books of every kind, even on the floor.

"May I help you?" a female voice said, coming from the back "Back for another book Zexion?" she asked.

"Not right now Lulu, I actually have a favor" he said.

"All right then…who's this?" she asked, pointing to the blonde.

"No clue! But I'm hoping to find out!" the blonde said with a smile, the woman blinked.

"I'm guessing he's one of your cases…" she smirked.

"Yeah…" Zexion sighed "…A little too energetic for my tastes though…"

"Aw, c'mon Zexy! You know you like me!" the blonde expressed, draping an over the smaller man's shoulders.

"Did you just call me 'sexy'?" he said, 'die' written all over him with a blush as well, Lulu tried to conceal her amusement.

"No!" he laughed "I'm sorry, it's a nickname! Take out the –on from your name, add a –y instead of an –I, and you get Zexy! Get it?" Zexion's eye twitched fervently as he removed the arm from his shoulders and tried not to kill him.

"I'm here for that new set of Tarot Cards Lu…"

"I thought you might…" the woman said, turning, the beads in her braided hair jingling, as her long black dress flowed as she walked, her top seemingly wanting to pop out, but if it weren't for the corset, it would "…I was playing with them earlier when the Ice goddess suddenly disappeared from her card…" she walked behind the counter and took out a box, then a deck of at least 22 cards, she looked them over and handed them to him "Don't mess these up, I'm not making another deck for you" she scolded.

"I know" he sighed "How much?"

"On the house, seeing you squirm was payment enough" she smiled.

"…Goodbye…" he stated and left, stomping.

"Nice to meet you" the blonde bowed and left, while the woman finally decided to break out in laughter.

~o~

"Did you really have to embarrass me in front of her?" Zexion asked annoyed.

"I'm really sorry, I just couldn't help myself…" he chuckled, walking behind him "Thing is…have you ever felt like…what do you call it? Um…ah! Déjà vu?"

"…Not that I can remember, why?" he turned around this time.

"Well…I get that from you…like, I've met you before…" he stated, Zexion brought his right hand to his chin and took a breath, thinking.

"I don't think so, I think I'd remember you…" he smirked.

"Really?" the blonde with the sea-green eyes smiled.

"Yeah, someone as loud as you isn't easy to forget…" he stated, turning with a sly smile; the blonde gaped at how cold Zexion could be, but even more so on his crude humor.

"Wait up!" he called, almost getting left behind.

They made their way out of the Shopping district to the train station and then to the other side of town. As they came into the large building that was Zexion's apartment, the man at the front desk stopped then.

"Good evening Mister Matsumoto, there's a package for you upstairs" he said.

"Package?" Zexion's visible eyebrow was raised "I'm not expecting anything…"

"Well, someone brought it in and told me to leave it next to your door"

"Who?" the detective asked.

"…I'm…actually not sure…" the man chuckled; Zexion knew the man didn't have a habit of lying, but it was weird nonetheless.

"All right then, thank you" he nodded, the blonde bowed to the man and followed the lilac haired man as they entered the elevator.

"I wonder what you got…" the blonde smiled "…Are you sure you aren't expecting something?"

"I'm sure…" Zexion had his thinking pose on; putting his right arm over his chest and putting his left hand on his chin, trademark-thinking pose.

"Seeing as you like books so much it wouldn't be odd" he chuckled, Zexion was startled by this.

"Why would you say that?" he asked.

"Hmmm…well, you look the type, plus, you've been reading one for a while now, why?"

"No reason…But why can't I help but feel I've done this before? You mentioned déjà vu before, but…"

The elevator stopped at the 3rd floor of the 6-story building and they got out, they walked down the hallway to room 339, and right there was a large object, covered in brown paper with a tag hanging from it.

"This must be it then…grab it will you?" he asked the newcomer as he took out his keys and opened the door; the blonde immediately sat on the couch, eyeing the object curiously "Well?"

"What?" asked the blonde.

"Open it, you seem so excited you open it" Zexion couldn't help but feel somewhat excited, and seeing the childish look on the other's face was refreshing.

"Ok!" the mullet/mohawked one opened the package and exclaimed happily "Do you know what this is?!" in his hand he held a blue colored instrument, a sitar to be exact, he began to play it slowly "It's out of tune" he chuckled, tuning it "This is a sitar, a kind of guitar, I've always dreamed of getting one!" he smiled.

"Dreamed? But…how could you dream about something if you…never mind…" Zexion took the card from the floor; the front said 'To Room 339' he opened the card and only one word was written on it, which he read "Demyx?"

"Yes?" the blonde asked; both of them blinked at each other, Zexion read it once more.

"Demyx…does it sound familiar to you?" the other closed his eyes and held his head, a headache forming; images flashed back and forth in the blonde's head, too quick to analyze.

"Hey, are you all right?" Zexion said, alarmed, he knelt down beside him and shook him.

"…I…" he began.

"Yes? What is it?"

"I think…I'm starting to remember," he said slowly.

"You are?" he looked at the sitar, then at the card "Just from these?" the lilac haired man blinked.

"Yeah…my name is Demyx…I…used to play a sitar in the streets of Radiant Garden…until they kinda kicked me out that is, but I somehow wound up here and in that Waterway…never mind the hospital thing…" he chuckled "Now **that** I can't remember…" he smiled "But this is great! Who would bring this here?" he said, strumming the instrument.

"How is this possible? How can someone get a hold of a memory simply from a card and an object…unless the object was originally a part of it of course…but…the one who brought this here knew this would happen…meaning…" he suddenly stopped, realizing: "I think we're in danger…" Zexion got up and locked the door quickly, then closed the windows and began looking around.

"Why do you say that?" the blonde, now Demyx, asked.

"Someone brought that here, knowing you'd be here, I think we were followed," he stated, looking straight at 'Demyx'.

"Who would be following me?" Demyx quirked an eyebrow at this.

Zexion looked at him sternly, grabbed him by the shoulders and pinned him to the wall, Demyx whimpered in pain and shock "Are you seriously telling me you have no memory of the time before the Waterway? None whatsoever? You don't even know where you got these powers from?" his visible eye showed rage and disbelief.

"I-I'm sorry! I really am! I just don't know!" the aqua eyed man expressed "I…I…" something snapped suddenly as his eyes seemingly got dilated and he shook violently "D-Don't…make me go back! Please!" he grabbed Zexion now, taking strength from nowhere, and shook him "All those needles and tubes…those hounds!"

"_Hounds? It can't be…those things and Shinra_?" Zexion thought.

"I want it all to stop…the endless probing…"

"Give me a name…" Zexion asked.

"…My heart…my heart…it hurts!" he kept exclaiming.

"Demyx give me a name! Who did this to you?!" he asked more sternly now.

"…Stop it! Stop it please!"

"A name!" Zexion shouted.

"No heart! He has no heart!!" Demyx simply shouted, before falling on his knees, his head on Zexion's belly "…Shinra's…no heart…" he whispered, crying now.

"…I thought so…you really are the runaway…experimentation on humans…barbaric…" he sighed, petting Demyx's head "I'm sorry Demyx, but, I needed to know…" he let the other sob on him for a while, before moving him to the couch, putting a blanket over his head, leaving the sitar nearby.

~o~

Steam hissed out of Zexion's bathroom as he came out from taking his hot shower, he had gone through every single detail of what he knew and it all lead to Shinra, but, something didn't add up; someone knew Demyx was there, someone knew the card and instrument would cause a reaction, the question is who and why.

"At least it means it won't be just a boring case…and maybe…it will give me the answer I'm looking for," he whispered.

He walked into his room, towel around his waist, when he opened the door and turned on the light, he saw Demyx sleeping soundly on is bed.

"What?!" he grumbled "What is he doing here?"

He walked up to him and shook him, no response "Damn it…it's late and I want to sleep…" he opted to get dressed first, though, the fact of having someone in the room made him nervous, to which he dressed in lighting speed "Now that that's settled…" he was about to take the covers from him when Demyx turned, revealing his peaceful face, striking Zexion in an unknown region of his heart.

The young detective fell back, his heart began to beat unusually quickly, images flashed in his mind and someone spoke him: "H3y I39z0…13t's g0 and p12y! 1 f0und th1s gr32t…0n th3…t0d2y…c'm0n…n0 n33d t0…b3…"

"Who…are…you?" he whispered as he collapsed, his heart slowly getting its rhythm back.

* * *

PLEASE for the LOVE of KINGDOM HEARTS AND ALL THAT IS AXEL, REVIEW OR SOMETHING!!!!

Luv Suyi


	5. Chapter 5: Dark Descendant

A/N: Thanks to my 3 reviewers, The White Raven013, Texmaris and Micro chibi baka-san for their reviews, they are greatly appreciated. After much though I've decided to post this story just for fun rather than for the responses; though they're appreciated, it's not the point of this fic, rather than to just tell a story. So without further ado here's MY favorite chapter among others, Chapter V of Downpour.

Also, the first Four chapters have been edited and reviewed by yours truly, so any grammatical errors spotted and such have been corrected and some things might have changed slightly, but nothing major. I have no beta, so please forgive any insaneness.

* * *

Chapter V: Dark Descendant

He walked through a dark corridor, feeling nothing but the hallow breeze of darkness all around him, a door opened and if not for the blindfold on his face it would have blinded him; it was a large white circular room that greeted him, a window on the far end, the young man of long silver hair and a dark coat stood in the middle.

"All right then, this shall be the second test run for Specimen 0…" Hojo said through a speaker from the window at the far end; the boy's blood boiled, he hated this man with a passion, it was because of him all of this happened, that he's trapped in this place, in darkness.

"Begin!" the man ordered, two doors opened and Shinra special forces, 3rd and 2nd Class SOLDIER, came into the door, ten in total; Hojo began his recording, smiling devilishly as his heart raced with anticipation. The young boy simply stood there, not motioning to do anything "Would you rather die?" Hojo asked, indifferently "You shall bring a new age of man, your freedom shall be assured…someday…" he cackled devilishly, as he always did, loud and obnoxiously.

"Go to hell…" a sword materialized in his right hand, black, red and blue, the Soul Eater, a fitting name for a sword that fed on the darkness in everything.

One SOLDIER charged in, his broadsword in hand, he thought of cutting the boy's head clean; no such luck. As he tried to bring his sword down, the cloaked boy dodged to the side, slicing the half the man's body and neck clean off, a sweep of blood falling on the white floor.

"Next…" the boy smirked; the other SOLDIERS were enraged and moved in for the kill, as they did the boy seemed to dance around them at dazzling speed, slicing off arms of two more right off.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Hojo said, more to himself than to his assistants, or Xaldin, a man of long hair in braids and a muscular build, the personal guard to Hojo and third Nobody to be made "How he moves with such grace and power; that is true darkness, move like an unseen shadow and strike with unmerciful coldness…" the man smiled a devilish smile and looked on.

One came from his left side and was about to land a blow, but his Guardian, a shadow as dark as night with demonic yellow eyes, appeared behind the boy and grabbed the attacker by the face, the SOLDIERS stopped cold, the one in the dark shadow's grasp was yelling, muffled as it crushed his skull clean, the room slowly filling with red.

"That shadow? A remnant of the original Specimen 0?" Xaldin asked.

"Yes…because of the cloning process it took a human form first, but…that Guardian is the colossal Heartless created by that foolish man when he gave up his heart for power…and now this boy carries his darkness…his heart unfazed…oh how I wish to dissect it…" Hojo began to stir, something that worried everyone, it's as close as to the act of sex the man will ever get, though rumors of that happening only once keep flying around.

The boy and the Guardian butchered the remaining 6 SOLDIERS, as the boy sliced them clean, the Guardian threw them around forcefully, happily smashing one against Hojo's window, an action that made Hojo smile all the more.

"Two left…" the boy muttered, he looked to his side, the Guardian excited over the new hearts it will soon harvest "…Fine…" he jumped upward and disappeared from the sight of one of the two SOLDIERS, then sliced one of them clean in half, blood spilling everywhere, a pool forming; the other man lost his nerve and began to run, screaming: "Demon!" the boy shut his palm and a dark flame appeared, he shot it and hit his target, the man screaming in agony until it died down.

"Well done…" Hojo smirked, smiling widely, the instruments not even at mid-percentage, while Xaldin tried to hold his lunch in; blood always made him queasy.

"Do it…" the Guardian stretched it's long arms and cracked it's neck, 10 tendrils came out of it's back and stuck themselves into every dead SOLDIER, then took they're hearts out "They'll never suffice…" the silver haired youth muttered, the shadow in pure ecstasy "…hearts don't fill me…and the darkness is empty…I'd soon rather die than be your puppet Hojo!" the last yelled as he looked at the man dead on.

"My dear boy, if you ever hope to accomplish anything, you shall become my puppet…although…I'll have to crack that impenetrable Guardian first…" he smirked "Then and only then shall I be able to play with you…" the man chuckled darkly, the boy clearly disgusted and offended, as was Xaldin, and he decided, enough was enough: he charged dead on and jumped toward the window, intent on breaking through, but out of the doors the SOLDIERS' poured in from came the man in the bandana and coat, broadsword in hand; the Guardian took the lead but was blocked with the man's sword, while he kicked the boy while in the air. When they landed the man quickly grabbed the silver haired youth by the neck, he struggled for air, as did the Guardian, when the man let go the Guardian disappeared, the boy coughing.

"Very good…take him away would you?" Hojo said, wiping his brow with a cloth, clearly excited from all the commotion, Xaldin followed afterwards.

"Yes sir" the man stated, taking the other by the arm and pulling him out.

~o~

The boy walked alongside the taller man in silence, down the pale corridors of the Shinra building, the one beside him broke the silence though.

"Well…how do you like your stay at the Shinra building?" he asked, dripping with sarcasm, his tone serious still.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Of course…I was thinking though…how'd you like a vacation?" he kept walking as he asked, hands in his pockets.

"What?" the boy spat, the man made no sense.

"I could say that I was ambushed by your Guardian…knocked out by you and you ran off…dodging every possible person and escape Hojo…"

"Hmph…you're the one who helped the other one, aren't you?" he asked, smirking "Why would you help me?"

"I like to see Hojo squirm, don't you?" he simply asked, this time the boy smiled "Besides…as unnatural as things are here, you're still human, aren't you? You deserve a life outside of this place…"

"What do you get out of this, other than pissing Hojo off?"

"Nothing yet" the man stated, simple.

"Fine…I'm in…" he sighed, even though he was so deep in the darkness, in his sorrow, he felt a small light at the core of his being, never snuffed by the dark, it gave him hope: for the future, for himself; the only reason he'd ever even consider such a thing.

"All right, but, we have to make it look convincing…" the man stopped and gripped the broadsword on his lower back.

"I'll go easy on you…" the boy said as Soul Eater and the Guardian appeared, fighting the man ferociously, he knocked him out and shed blood as he ran off toward the roof.

"…Good…let's see how this goes…" the man mumbled, almost unconscious, he threw a knife that flew to the end of the hall and hit the alarm, he then passed out.

"He said convincing…" the silver haired one said "Come Guardian!" he called, the shadow hovered next to him and the boy jumped on it's back, dissolving into the ground and quickly going up the floors.

~o~

He busted the door to the rooftop open, rain falling ferociously; it seemed that whenever Hojo's experiments were done, Twilight Town would be covered in darkness, dread and despair, like in a storm.

The boy walked to the edge, Guardian behind, he heard the footsteps of guards, Vexen's shrilly voice, Hojo's screaming and Xaldin's silent but deadly darkness.

"Where do you think you're going?! There is nowhere you can hide" Hojo yelled.

"Anywhere is better than here!" he yelled back, standing on the edge "Goodbye…you second-rate worm!" he threw a Dark Firaga at them, which Xaldin blocked, and then the boy jumped down, a smile on his face. Hojo ran to the edge, and the boy felt joy for the first time: he saw fear in Hojo's eyes, he saw failure and lack of power; the weak human that Hojo truly is. The Guardian appeared and took hold of the boy, landing him safely and he ran through the streets.

"After him! Don't let my precious sample escape!" Hojo demanded; the Alpha Heartless was present and jumped down as well; a pack of his cohorts appearing and using the boy's darkness against him tracked him down.

~o~

He knew he was being followed, but he couldn't stop, he knew freedom was simply a foolish dream that only happens when one is in the light, but he still had a drop of it left, he hoped he could be free, so he ran and ran faster, reaching the East side of uptown.

"…They're…coming…" he huffed, and the dogs materialized around him; the Guardian appeared and the dogs lunged at them. The great shadow batted and beat them off, while they tried to subdue it, to no avail. The boy took a chance to run, and hid in an alley while the Guardian weakened them.

"…I have to do something…as long as I reek of darkness…they'll come…" the boy sighed, his companion appearing "I'll have to seal my darkness away…" he confessed to it; the shadow simply hovered there, but nodded in understanding. He took a breath and concentrated on the light that his heart still emanated and on the darkness that circled it, he caused the light to shine and chain the darkness into it, the Guardian screeched in pain, as it's skin became rigid and strong, it also became chained, white bandages covering it's chest and mouth, it's tendrils become more spiked then before; it felt powerful, yet missed the comforting feeling of the boy's darkness "Please hold them off…catch up to me when you can…" though feeling sluggish, the boy jumped over the fence and kept on, while the hounds caught up to the lingering scent of the dark, the Guardian seemed mad, it never felt so constricted as now, and took it's anger out on the dark wolves.

~o~

He didn't know where he was, but houses were all around, the suburbs on the east side of Twilight Town. He was tired, hungry and weak; feelings he cast aside when he gave into the darkness, but now that he was semi-back to the light, his humanity had returned and even though he could still see the light that living beings emanated, which would be his saving grace, he deemed his eyes shameful for they showed how dark he truly was, how could he fit in?

"…I should've thought this through a little more…" he sighed.

As he walked he came up to a large house and something amazed him, the top floor, the attic emanated a great amount of light, the boy was in awe; it felt so inviting, so comforting, he felt compelled to be in that light and like in a trance he walked toward the house, looking for a way in. He found a small window on the floor, to the basement, and managed to open it and went inside. He collapsed beside a machine and felt exhausted for the first time in his life, and while completely drenched in water, cold and tired, he succumbed to a peaceful sleep.

~o~

The dark realm…

A white road of dead trees…

The man who began my nightmare…defeated…on the ground…

"Do not…shun the dark young one…it shall protect you…from that madman…take my darkness and live…do not run from it…it shall be your greatest weapon…"

I couldn't understand…darkness was a scary thing…bothersome and empty…how could it protect me?

"…I don't know what will happen to your light, but…hold on to it tight and never let it go…even those steeped in darkness…seek…re…"

My nightmare ended and a new one began then…

A shadow that followed me everywhere…a cold and unending feeling of loneliness and dread…I am now a child of Darkness…my unavoidable fate…and still the light…I can still feel it deep within…

* * *

A/N: Pointless, but Review please!


	6. Chapter 6: Ivory Twins I

I'm sorry if I sound out of it but, a user by the name Bon Nuit Leone, made an account simply to review and alert this story...TOTALLY MADE MY DAY. So this Chapter goes out to him and the rest of my faithful readers. Now don't worry, I won't betch about the lack of anything anymore seeing as my boyfriend was right.......do this for fun and you'll see results, so here's Chapter 6 of Downpour!

* * *

Chapter VI: Ivory Twins I

It was Wednesday morning on the East side of Twilight Town. A chocolate haired boy kept stirring in his bed, while a certain girl kept knocking on his door and just wouldn't let up; he groaned in annoyance and put his head under the pillow.

"Sora!" Naminé said for the umpteenth time.

"Let me try" her brother said, picking the lock on the attic door and open it with a loud slam.

"Wah!" the boy on the bed cried, sitting up abruptly "Why'd you go and do that for!?"

"Good morning dear cousin" the girl giggled.

"Yeah…" Sora sighed, falling back on his bed.

"It's laundry day, so please, put your clothes in here and take them down into the laundry room, and don't worry, I already did mine, so only yours and Roxas' dirty underwear will be mixed in" she said, setting the laundry basket next to the door.

"Ok, I will…" he groaned, he hated being woken up like this.

He sat up again, his sleeveless black shirt hanging on one side, his hair looking ever more gravity defying than usual. He pulled the covers and put his feet on the floor "Ah, cold!" he expressed. He fixed his short red trunks and yawned, loudly, snapping a bone here and there as he stretched. The room was fairly big, especially since it's the attic; his bed was mounted on the left side, a fairly big and 'super comfy' bed as he put it. Various posters were hanged around the wooden walls, picture frames of snapshots here and there. A window on the back, with a small place to sit was there, a telescope neatly tucked nearby. To the right, another window, with a desk, a MickBook closed on it, and a camera and several equipment was next to it also. He put on his sandals, put his laundry in the basket and headed downstairs.

My name is Sora Kiyoshima; age 16…currently living in Twilight Town with my cousins, Roxas and Naminé due to me transferring to Twilight High this semester; I'm originally from the Destiny Islands, and I left for reasons better left for later.

He opened the door to the basement and turned the light on "Ah, too bright!" he said, blinking a lot.

He opened the washer and dunked the clothes in, good thing Naminé knew to put in only the colors beforehand, otherwise Roxas might end up with pink undies again. "_Though his friend Axel and I found it hilarious_…" he thought, smirking, as he poured in the detergent.

The house cat, a white feline, with browns spots on it's ears, right eye and tail named Ike, seemed to be meowing at something as Sora happily whistled while turning the knobs.

"What is it?" the boy asked, he knelt down and saw a black boot on the floor, as his gaze went up he saw a guy, asleep, dressed in black with a blindfold on his face and "…that is the weirdest hair color I've ever seen…" he breathed out, he then snapped back to reality "Hey…" he walked to the young man's side and knelt down, shaking him slowly "…are you ok? Wake up" he went on; the other shifted and looked at the other, still asleep, Sora couldn't help but blush, even with the blindfold he found the other handsome, and he seemed wet, probably from last night's storm.

"Hey Ike, go get Naminé" he told the cat, who's right ear twitched and it quickly scampered on upstairs.

~o~

"I can see the headlines now 'Random guy breaks into house, slaughters 3 teenage kids inside and makes away with the cash and the cat' perfect! Just perfect!" Roxas was ranting, he was mad that Sora had brought this stranger upstairs, instead of tossing him out.

"He looked like he needed help!" Sora said to his defense "He has a blindfold, maybe he's blind…"

"So blind he crawled in through the basement window?" the male blonde asked, his right eyebrow raised.

"Well…"

"Would you stop it?" Naminé said suddenly, sitting beside the now not so sleeping young man on the couch "He's awake…"

The silver haired youth didn't know where he was, but he could tell there were three people there, two of them had this immense light emanating from them, but one felt familiar, he knew there was another, but, the light was dull and small.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"You're in the Twilight Town East suburbs, you're in the Takejima/Kiyoshima residence, and I'm Naminé Takejima" the girl said.

"Are you all right? Can you see? Do you need anything?" Sora asked quickly, concerned.

"That's my cousin Sora Kiyoshima, he's staying here for the school year"

"_Sora…_" the young man thought, looking his way.

"I'm Roxas, and I'm annoyed, what will Mom say when she sees him here?" he fumed.

"Probably something like: Let's feed him, bathe him and give him a room; Just like she did to you when she found you in the trash dear brother" Naminé smirked with sarcasm, while Sora laughed.

"Seriously Roxas, you have to chill out, you'll get gray hair way too soon if you don't…." Sora then blinked "I'm sorry! I didn't mean anything by that…" he told the silver haired, not gray haired youth.

"Why?" he asked.

"Your hair is kinda…gray-ish…" he admitted.

"It is?" he said, completely serious, it's been a while since he's even seen a mirror; the other's looked at each other, bewildered "…Maybe I should go, I'm intruding…" he was about to get up, when he felt a small hand on his gloved one, it was the blonde girl.

"You look like you're hungry and tired, why not stay?" she asked.

"No, really, it's no problem…" Riku avoided looking around, especially toward that light, to Sora, or else he might reconsider.

"I say he goes, who knows why he came here?" Roxas spat out.

"That's it" Naminé huffed "Sora will get you accommodated, while me and Roxas get breakfast going, afterwards we'll decide what to do, deal?" she asked, no one seemed to mind "Good" she smiled, Roxas sighed exasperated while being dragged by his sister into the kitchen.

"Come on" Sora said, offering his hand, surprisingly enough the other took hold of it, tightly yet gently, making the boy of chocolate hair blush "What's your name?" he asked.

"My…name?"

"Yeah, do you remember?" Sora asked, looking up at the other.

"…It's…been a while since I even thought about it…um…" thinking was giving him a migraine, so many memories were scattered, but he wanted to answer _him_ "Riku…" he smiled back at the other "My name is Riku" Sora smiled back and chuckled.

"Nice to meet you Riku, I'm Sora" Riku nodded and they walked upstairs, Sora leading him there.

~o~

"Well…I don't think we have any clothes that can fit you…" Sora sighed, they had left the living room and went upstairs to a room called 'Clutter Galore' where old clothes and stuff for charity was stored "I'm practically a stick next to you, not to mention slightly smaller, so, my clothes are no good…"

"I don't think you're all that skinny, you seem to have running legs after all…" Riku said abruptly.

"H-How'd you know?" Sora blushed madly, kneeling down and covering his legs.

"The way you walked, it's soft yet firm…" the last words made the blush in Sora's face worsen.

"Um…are you blind by any chance?" he asked.

"I…no, not really…" he stuttered.

"Then, what's with the blindfold?" Sora pressed on.

"Oh…right…" Riku knew he'd have to take it off, but, he was reluctant to do so, if his eyes were still those of the dark, he'd have no choice but to leave; Sora saw Riku's reluctance so he opted to keep talking.

"Also…" he said, taking Riku out of his thoughts, and blurting out the first thing that came to mind "…are you wearing something under that coat? If you are then all we'd have to worry about is getting you new clothes" the thought of Riku being naked under there though sent his boy-hormones into a tizzy.

"I am actually…the coat is thick so I'm pretty dry…" he got up and unzipped the coat, then let it fall with a wet thud on the floor; he wore a sleeveless shirt, no neck, and black pants, Sora stared, a lot "What?" Riku asked.

"N-Nothing…" the brunet stuttered; Riku picked up his coat and took off his gloves and handed them to Sora.

"You know…I really don't want to be a burden…I'll probably only be a nuisance" Riku suddenly said, sitting down near a stack of boxes "I should leave…"

"Why? It's no problem at all" the other chuckled.

"You don't even know me…." Riku said sadly.

"That's true, but if you were a serial killer we'd be done in by now, right?" he smiled; Riku felt the shift of light whenever Sora smiled, he wished he could see it, just once.

"Hey…um…do you have a mirror around?" he asked shyly.

"Yup" Sora nodded, he got up and opened the door, the now shy silver haired boy followed, and the hall held at least a few doors, with another set of stairs that went to the attic, the bathroom was in front of the 'Clutter Galore' room.

Riku stood in front of the mirror, he gulped nervously, and he felt Sora waiting next to him at the door. He slowly touched the black piece of cloth and undid it at the back, then slowly removed it, his eyes still closed.

"Come on, you can do it" the other reassured.

Riku slowly opened his eyes and was slapped by the sudden colors, he lost his balance but Sora quickly held him in place, feeling the muscle under the thin shirt.

"Y-You all right?" Sora stuttered once more.

"Yeah…I just got a little dizzy…it's been too long since I actually used my own eyes…" Riku held on to Sora, then slowly opened them again, he looked at himself in the mirror, in awe on how much he's changed: Tall and toned, muscle was visible, his hair was very long, it almost went to his buttocks, his eyes though, he was breathless, a green color he'd never seen before, it shone very brightly.

"Wow…" Sora breathed out, taking the words out of Riku's mouth.

"W-What?" Riku now blushed this time, looking away.

"Your eyes…they're…um…hehe…" Sora chuckled, embarrassed, he still had his arm around Riku while he had his arm over his own shoulders; he felt drawn to those eyes.

Riku on the other hand was able to see Sora for the first time, spiky brown hair, tan skin, his arms slightly tone, his legs as well, he was as tall as his chest too "_Where my heart is…_" and what he truly liked about the boy was his blue eyes, those deep blue eyes that seemed to shine and he noticed those eyes getting closer.

"Sora…" Riku breathed out "_Why is he getting so close? And…why does my body feel all warm?_" he thought.

"Guys!" Naminé yelled from downstairs, making them jump out of their cozy situation "Food is ready"

"R-Right…f-food…um…" Sora stuttered "L-Let's go…" he walked to the hall first; Riku took his steps slowly, getting accustomed to the light.

"Hey…" Riku said, embarrassed at his situation, he never felt so weak and powerless, but, the other boy made an effort to make him feel welcome, why waste it?

"Yeah?" Sora looked back "Oh…" he smirked, letting Riku use his shoulder as a kind of cane, though Riku opted to take his hand for support; Sora froze and looked onward while Riku said: "Ready?" the other nodded and they walked slowly downstairs.

~o~

Sora walked into the kitchen, which had a table in the middle, cabinets around the back and the refrigerator to the right, the stove to the left of the cabinets. On the table though he saw eggs, bacon, juice, toast and waffles all on the counter.

"Whoah!" Sora expressed with a wide grin "You guys went all out!"

"Well…I'm starving…" Roxas said, taking out another set of waffles from the toaster.

"And we have a guest…" Naminé added, pouring the last glass of juice "Sit" she said, and all four of them did.

Riku felt lost, all he saw was a yellow goopy thing, a sort of red crispy thing, waffles he recognized though, but still, he didn't even know where to start.

"What?" Roxas began, his mouth fool "Never saw a 'decent' breakfast before?"

"Roxas! That's rude! You know Axel being gone doesn't give you the right to be rude to people on a daily basis!" the girl scolded.

"Mind your own business…" he said, munching on a waffle drenched in syrup.

"Anyway…" Sora cut in "Do you recognize anything?" he asked.

"Not really…except for the waffles…but…um…" Riku admitted, feeling dumb.

"Just give it a try" the boy next to him urged him on, and he did, he took a piece of each food in front of him and immediately his taste buds screamed back to life; a life of stale bread and water wasn't a good diet, if it weren't for the constant pumping of chemicals and nutrients given by Hojo we wouldn't look like he did.

"This is really good" he said with a mouth full, Sora and Naminé laughed from the child-like antic of such an older looking boy, while Roxas was thinking to himself.

~o~

After breakfast, Riku offered to at least clean the dishes and Sora offered to help him, with a soapy outcome afterwards.

"I told you not to challenge me…" Riku said with a smirk.

"…Mean…" Sora stated while a sponge sat on his head, dripping with soap; he dropped it back into the sink and grabbed the dry towel for his head.

"You know…" Riku said, leaning on the counter.

"What?" Sora asked, slightly annoyed.

"…You still haven't given me a real reason why you're letting me stay…this is too good to be true, y'know?" Sora blinked.

"What is?" he asked.

"Being taken in like this, though your cousin proved that not everybody is welcoming…you feeding me and being friendly; I'm a total stranger and you treat me like family…" though in his heart, Riku felt joy, he was happy he found some people he could hopefully call friends, especially Sora.

"Well…where I come from we always offer our hospitality to people visiting, it's customary back at the Islands"

"Islands?" the boy of green eyes asked.

"I'm from Destiny Islands originally"

"Desti-…ny…" Riku groaned, his right eye began to sting, a memory had suddenly come and gone, he briefly saw a beach with white sand, palm trees, it felt so familiar; Sora looked at him with concern, he slowly put his hand near Riku's eye making him flinch.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah…thanks…" Riku smiled, he put one of his hands over Sora's, it felt warm to him, and it was kind of small too "…really…" Sora nodded shyly, though, Riku's hand felt a little cold to him, and he felt a need to warm it up though. They looked at each other's eyes warmly, Riku felt a familiarity towards Sora, and the other tried to find answer to the enigma that was Riku.

"I'm home!" a woman's voice said from the front door, making the two boys flinch and walk away from each other, blushing "Hello Sora, you're up early" smiled a woman of blonde hair, tied in a bun on the back, two pieces of hair were left on the front and she had the same blue eyes as the three children.

"Hi Auntie Quistis!" Sora smiled goofily.

"And who's this?" she asked, putting down a large stack of papers on the table.

"This is Riku…we…um…" Sora tried to think of something to make up, but, one: she knows when he's lying and two: "We found him passed out in the basement…" Roxas beat him to it.

"Roxas!" Sora whined.

"Did we now?" she asked, taking out a bottle of water from the refrigerator "Well, Riku, what were you doing in my basement?" she asked, coy but serious.

"….It was raining last night and I needed a place to stay, I don't really live anywhere nearby and your basement window was the only thing open so…" that was partially true, never-mind the light show he saw from the attic.

"I see…" she smirked, as she always did when she was thinking "…Are you armed?"

"Um…" he kinda flinched at that, he had a sword that he could summon at any time and a Guardian shadow at his command; what do you say to a question like that? Quistis giggled.

"No need to be so scared, I don't bite, look, I won't question you any further, you seem like an intelligent young man, and you apparently have my daughter and my nephew on your side…"

"Are you seriously considering letting him stay?" Roxas asked, dead-paned, his mother nodded "Why?!"

"Let's see: You're all still alive, he looks tired, he says he has nowhere to go and he cleaned the dishes, something you, my dear son, I have to fight to get you to do so" she smiled.

"I just love yours and Naminé's logic…and how do you know she's 'on his side'?"

"Easy, she's not here telling me to kick him out" she put her glasses on the table as well, and her sighed "Roxas, being hospitable isn't a bad thing, true, it's very odd the way he popped in out of nowhere, and that he looks slightly suspicious, but, if your sister, which I trust with practically the whole house, says it's all right, then I don't mind" "_Besides, I'm tired as hell, I don't feel like fighting_" the woman thought.

"Fine…" he shrugged, grabbing his wallet from the table near the door "I'm going out…" he said, closing the door in a huff.

"He's still pretty mad about Axel leaving without saying a word, right?" she asked.

"Yup" Sora nodded.

"So, Riku is it?" he nodded "Do you go to school?" the woman asked.

"Not really no…" he admitted.

"Aunt Quistis is a middle-school teacher; she's the best though I hope she never comes to high school…"

"Why?" Riku quirked an eyebrow at this.

"There are rumors of me being exceptional in my grading and test handling…" she smirked.

"She's also a discipline-a-holic" Naminé added as she came downstairs, her sketchpad in hand "I know it's a little weird, but you can grill him all you want later, when you've slept, all right?" the girl told her mother, who nodded, sitting down and going through the exams she had.

Riku smiled, he hadn't felt normal for the past three years, soon to be four, and yet, here he was, though as strange as the circumstances are, with a family of four, had just eaten a decently prepared meal, and had made a friend, all in one day. But he felt nervousness all the while: Hojo is probably still looking, his darkness is still there, how would they react if they found out the terrible demon he truly is?

"Riku…" the young blonde girl said "…could you come with me for a minute?" she asked.

"Uh…sure…" he glanced at Sora, who simply nodded and left the kitchen with the girl, towards the living room.

~o~

"What is it?" the boy asked.

"I'd like you to take a look at something…" she said, opening her sketchpad, flipping through a few pictures "…Here…" she handed it to him.

Riku's eye went wide in shock, how did she know? It was a head shot of the true Specimen 0, a man of terrible dark power that he now had, and there he was, in a sketchpad of a girl he has never met.

"I drew it last night…images come to me while I sleep…this appeared to me probably around the time you came into the house…he's…well…the 'everything' to your horror isn't he?"

"Not 'everything'…just the start…" he sighed "How? And moreover why would you show this to me?"

"I have an ability…when people dream, their true feelings and thoughts, their subconscious is revealed, and I have the power to pick up on that, all the emotions and memory people go through while sleeping, I see them, and I am compelled to draw some thing, whatever it is and…well…you had a dream last night, correct?"

"More like a nightmare…" Riku looked away, he felt saddened, and now that she knew about him, he would probably have to leave "I guess I'll…"

"Oh no! You don't have to go…" she giggled, slightly amused that her intent was taken the wrong way "I just wanted to tell you that you at least have someone who knows about you, I do not know the severity, but I know plenty, about your power and such…and if anything I'd like to tell you that, the light you're carrying, don't let it go, it's a precious thing to have even if…"

"**You** don't have that much?" he told her, her eyes went wide too, but then calmed in understanding, he could 'see' the light in people.

"Yes, that's right…it might have to do with the reason I draw, but, I am not truly sure…we're unique and odd people you and I, but, I'm happy, hopefully you can be that way one day again soon…" she smiled.

"Thanks, Naminé…" Riku sighed, relieved, but he still felt uneasy; things like this don't last forever, and Sora is so innocent…he'd probably be disgusted by him.

"Well, from what Sora tells me…" Quistis cut in, coming into the room, said boy next to him "…You don't have many clothes, do you Riku?"

"No ma'am…"

"Well, I'm sending Sora out for some errands, if you'd like you can go with him and pick out some things, you can also stay as long as you like, but, I have a few rules…" Riku nodded in understanding, feeling joy mixed with the uneasy feeling "…You must help out around the house; curfew is at 9pm, no drugs, no alcohol, no wild parties…" Sora chuckled at that "…and most important, I don't bite, so if you need anything, ask, all right?"

"Right…" he nodded; the woman smiled and returned to the papers she has to grade.

"Well, I'll go change and we'll leave, all right?" Sora said.

"Sure" he answered as Sora ran upstairs.

"_Shopping…errands…a motherly rant…_" Riku smiled, he has no memory of his own family, being orphaned since he was 5 years old, but the feeling was familiar, and he loved it, only, if the feeling of dread would leave, everything would be perfect.

* * *

A/N: The hero of the Keyblade likes reviews, don't you? I sure do =]


	7. Chapter 6: Part 2: Ivory Twins II

One of my favorite chapters and my second favorite, the emotional conclusion of Ivory Twins.

Warning: Implied nakedness, wish of ripping of vital body parts and character death

* * *

Chapter VI Part 2: Ivory Twins II

Normally, Roxas is pretty outgoing, happy and fun, a bit of a temper, but nothing too brutal, lately though and ever since his friend Axel left, he's been nothing but a jerk, and he knows it too.

The young blonde sighed out loud, annoyed, pissed or whatever you want to call it, he just didn't feel right. And while it was true he missed his best friend, the worst part came when he went to sleep; dreams and nightmares about a place he has never been in, with people he doesn't know, but the worst part of it all is that Axel is in every one of those dreams, asking for help, to let him out of somewhere and asking Roxas for help.

"They're just dreams…right? They don't mean anything…still…I just…can't help but feel they're real somehow…" he groaned and scratched his head, he was getting a headache "Maybe some sea-salt ice cream would help…" he smirked, feeling slight joy; Sea-salt ice cream, a blue ice cream bar that was sweet and salty at the same time, his favorite, and it was the first thing he and Axel shared as kids when they met "Now it's just a painful memory…I blame myself…"

It's been at least a week since he left, without a word, and Roxas blames himself for it, they had had an argument the day before he disappeared, he had fought Axel on these things before, but this time it exploded.

~o~

Roxas was furious, he could feel the people whispering and they looked at him as if he had a second head growing out of his neck, he walked as fast as he could, he knew where he'd be.

He climbed the clock tower and found Axel there, at the top, looking over the town, smiling over at a burning building, an incident which the redhead had caused.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Roxas yelled and Axel looked back casually.

"Hey Roxy…" he sounded stoned.

"You're drunk!?" he yelled again "What is wrong with you?!"

"Aw, come off it Roxy…I'm just having some fun…" he giggled "Besides, those bastards deserve it…impounding my car for no reason…they just wanted to…um…to…to…what was my point again?" he broke into a laughing fit then.

Roxas growled and went back inside, Axel following.

"What are you so mad about? They'll live! It's just a tiny fire…hic…"

"Tiny!? You almost burned down an entire block!"

"You know…I don't need this shit from you, I get enough crap from Reno…" he took a breath and then looked at his friend through red, puffy eyes "I thought you were my friend!" Axel suddenly snapped.

"I am your friend! But if you keep pulling stuff like this you'll end up hurt! Or worse…and…I couldn't stand that…" he looked down, a sob escaping him, but he wouldn't let himself be rattled "You're sick Axel…always picking fights, smoking, drinking…I know your house isn't all that great, but…you shouldn't try to kill everything off for it!"

"How the hell would you know!?" Axel yelled back "You with the perfect little life, the sister, the CARING, UNSELFISH MOTHER WHO ISN'T CALLED A WHORE BEHIND YOUR BACK EVERY 5 SECONDS!" he yelled, fire seemingly spilling from him.

"Axel…" though to Roxas the young man of tall red hair and peridot eyes was harmless, he always feared his temper, and now was one of those time, adding the fact that he's drunk isn't good.

"Don't preach…cause I ain't listening…" he took up another cigarette and was about to light it when Roxas knocked it out of his hands, and out of anger Axel pushed the boy to the ground and was about to pounce on him when he saw his face: shock and fear "…R-Rox…I…"

"No…" the boy sobbed "…You're sick Axel…you're…please…" he blubbered.

"You're right…I'm nothing but trouble…nothing but a big-ass failure…" he sighed, then hiccupped; he took the boy's hand, though he was reluctant and gave him a tight hug "You're the only good thing in my life Roxas…I don't want to screw this up…so…I'll be seeing you…" he left a small smoke and alcohol filled kiss on the smaller boy's head and left "See ya Roxy" he said, leaving the clock tower's last floor.

Roxas fell to his knees and sobbed, he couldn't believe how bad it had gotten, he couldn't believe how Axel reacted, and the thought of him leaving was…unbearable.

~o~

"It's my fault…" Roxas mumbled, walking through the central park, Twilight Square, he saw all the kids with their kites, couples holding hands, and two friends simply chatting the day away, it made his emotions well up again "…Axel…why did you leave me? I need…" he sniffed "…I need to tell you how sorry I am…" he walked toward to a group of trees and sat down on its trunk, taking a deep breath "_Reno didn't even care though…_"

~o~

Roxas was out of breath and even crawling up the steps of the apartment Axel and his brother Reno lived in. "Too…many…steps…" he thought.

He took a deep breath and walked to the door and knocked on it, now answer until the fourth.

"Oh…Roxas…" Reno said, surprised.

"Is Axel here? Is he ok?" the smaller boy asked, looking at the almost exact twin to Axel, only his red hair was long and straight, unlike Axel's which was practically everywhere.

"Um…well…" he sighed "…He's not here, he…left…"

"What?!" Roxas yelled, his eyes going wide "What do you mean?!"

"I…went to his room, his stuff is gone, there's no note, and he just disappeared…"

"Did you even try to stop him!?"

"I was sleeping…" Reno answered, annoyed "…get over it Roxas, you know that little brother of mine is a ticking time bomb, you're better off without him…OMF!" Reno yelped as he felt Roxas fist connect with his stomach, hard.

"Bastard!" Roxas sobbed "And you call yourself family? You don't even care!" he yelled once more, running out, downstairs and out of the building.

~o~

"_I haven't seen him since…_" he sighed once more, back from his trip down memory lane, and seeing Sora, with a new friend, both of them smiling, it made it worse, he'd have welcomed Riku a little bit more if he weren't so angry.

"…He's probably living it up somewhere…" he sniffed once more, but groaned, he was tired of crying, of feeling guilty "…I hope he's all right…please…if there really is a God out there…please…watch over Axel…he has a temper and can be a little off but, he means well, he's caring and appreciative, attentive and…and…" he sighed, he didn't want to think anymore, he wouldn't, Axel wasn't here anymore, no need to keep dwelling on what could have been.

Roxas leaned back and sighed once more, letting the cool breeze and its sound on the leaves and let it rock him to sleep, the red head still clear in his mind.

~o~

Roxas opened his eyes slowly, but what he saw wasn't the park, it wasn't that at all, and he couldn't feel anything, he couldn't move, and all of a sudden…

"Let me out damn it! You people have no right to keep me here!" a familiar voice echoed through a white room, cushioned everywhere, a single bed in the room.

For the past week or so Roxas has had dreams where he's not in control, it's as if he's looking through another's eyes, but it's always barely audible or visible, but right now, it was so crystal clear, he could hear his best friend's voice and apparently see what he sees, but he had no control, he felt helpless, so useless, but: is it real or not?

Pale hands pounded on the cushioned door, clawed at them and kicked them. The faceless voice groaned, pissed, sad, wanting to get out. "_Where is he?_" Roxas thought, his friend apparently not hearing him. Axel fell back on the bed and sighed, cursing his luck "Damn that Reno…damn him and Shinra…I'll kill him if I ever get out…" This surprised Roxas, he'd thought he'd just left, but no, his brother and Shinra have something to do with his leaving, but what?

Roxas felt himself bolt up from the bed suddenly; a man with long dread-locked hair came inside, a smirk on his face.

"You again? What do you want?" Axel asked, annoyed.

"I heard your racket, the Professor finds it amusing, he loves a challenge, but you annoy me…so shut up" it was Xaldin, Hojo's retainer.

"Yeah, yeah, go suck your master's…" that was his last word, as Xaldin grabbed him by the neck, cutting all air, he felt dizzy and Roxas felt it too.

"I won't take your insolence, but you're invaluable to Hojo, so I suggest you keep yourself alive, at least until he's done with you, that way he'll spare us his wrath…" he threw him strongly against the cushioned wall, which felt more like bricks with the force used by the brute who laughed loudly as he left.

"Damn…What I wouldn't give for a smoke…" he sighed, crawling to his bed and sitting beside it "…Which truthfully I'll trade for a last day with Roxy…" he smiled, chuckling "…I'm delusional…I'm never getting out…" he stretched his limbs, his scrawny, stick-like body cracking slightly "…The saddest thing is…I still hope I will…" he then chuckled darkly.

"_Axel…I…_" Roxas sniffed, he felt his friend's feelings, he felt anxious, nauseous, a feeling of dread and fear filled him, and also a deep longing for warmth, and to Axel, Roxas was that warmth.

"Hm?" Axel sat up and looked around, he knew he was being watched but he never heard anyone before "Is someone there?" he asked, no one answered "…Must be the drugs…" he scratched the back of his red mane of hair.

"_You can hear me?_" Roxas said, surprised and happy at the same time.

"Roxas?!" Axel jumped and looked around "…I **have** to be going nuts…I'm hearing Roxas now…" he mumbled.

"_You can really hear me? Axel!"_ he yelled; Axel's head pounded, he felt slightly dizzy "_Sorry…_" the voice of his best friend whispered in his head.

"So…figment of my brain…who are you?" Axel asked casually, though really he wanted to break out into laughter.

"It's me! Roxas! Don't you believe me Axel?" he said, pleadingly.

"Hmm…" he smirked playfully, Roxas felt the shift of emotion in himself too "…Then tell me something only the real Roxy would know…"

"…Well…those tattoos on your face you got on a dare…you cried when you got them and you promised me not to tell…you also have a scar on your…"

"Whoah! Ok! I got it!" he laughed out loud, blushing slightly "So…are you really my Roxas?" he asked shyly.

"…_Yeah…_" the 'voice' answered, flustered at the word 'my'.

"This is totally weird…" he sighed, falling on the white bed "…but I don't care…I got my wish…I guess that means…" he frowned and drew a shaky breath.

"Axel?"

"Never mind…how are you?" he asked.

"Me?! I should be asking you! Where are you!?"

"Hmm…well…In a white room…" he stated.

"_I can see that…_" the blonde stated flatly, Axel felt Roxas' annoyance; he only wished he could see his face.

"I don't really know…but since they're throwing around Hojo's name, I'd guess I'm at the Shinra building…"

"_Why?_" he heard Roxas ask, concerned.

"…I have no real idea…something about an experiment…ask Reno, that two-timing bastard should know…" he said bitterly.

Axel, felt Roxas' silence, and he opted to make the mood better, remembering the old days.

~o~

Hojo entered the room adjacent to Axel's room, it had a window that looked into it, but Axel couldn't look back and it had a panel, which recorded not only Axel's voice, but his heart condition, the 'treatment', and the amount of light his heart emanated. He raised an eyebrow curiously as he saw the boy talk animatedly to himself "_What's going on?_" he thought to himself; he had hoped for some amusement.

He sat down at the panel, and his eyes widened until it hurt, his own dark heart leapt, he couldn't believe it. He called his retainer, Xaldin, and the SOLDIER leader, the man in the bandana, to the room.

"Did you see this?" he asked, excitedly.

"What?" Xaldin asked, the other man moved over to the panel, his own eyes widening.

"Is this even possible?" he breathed out, what he saw was the light-meter that is installed on the panel, it read far more than anything they had before, it shone brightly, almost menacing to leave an on-looker blind.

"It's inconceivable!" Hojo expressed "A single heart cannot expel this much light, no matter how pure a person claims to be!" his blood dance in his veins, he wanted to dissect him now even more "This new Specimen VIII proves to be far more interesting than the brother…" he cackled on, as he always did, the man in the bandana looked over to the window as Axel smiled and laughed, he seemed to be talking, but to who? Then it hit him: "_A second heart…a connection to someone else…_" he thought, remembering something he had heard before.

"Do you want me to prep him?" Xaldin asked.

"No, not yet, let me observe him a little longer…" he smiled devilishly, and the other men opted to leave, they didn't share Hojo's perverse tastes.

~o~

"Aw c'mon…you looked nice in that pumpkin costume when you were 7…" Axel smiled.

"_Shut up…_" Roxas said, embarrassed.

"Or how about the time when I told you you'd turn blue if you kept eating so much Sea Salt ice cream?"

"…I remember, you made me cry you dolt, I was only 9…but…you said you were sorry and promised to make it up to me…" Roxas smiled, and Axel could feel it, but again, he wished to **see** it, more than anything.

"And I did, didn't I?" he smirked.

"What was it? Oh yeah! You painted yourself blue and danced like a maniac, you told me you lied but if I turned blue you'd do it too" Roxas laughed, he hadn't laughed the whole time Axel was gone, he missed laughing, he missed Axel, but then reality set in "…I…I won't be able to see you anymore, will I?"

"Why do you say that?" he said normally, but inside he knew, he knew he'd never get out of there.

"No one comes out of Shinra's hands…at least not alive…or sane…" the blonde stated.

"…Roxas…" Axel then blinked "Hold on…" he muttered, annoyed, he sat up and crossed his legs, he felt watched, meaning Perverted Hojo was on the other side of the wall in front of him "Screw you, fire crotch!!" he yelled, flipping the man the bird; Hojo laughed and turned on the speaker: "My dear boy, if you wish to rattle me you'd better find a more clever way to do so, all you're making me want to do is…well…" he then chuckled that eerie chuckle, that perverted yet maniacal chuckle, it even made Roxas want to lurch "…In fact, I think I will" the then turned off the mike.

"Hey!" Axel yelled, stunned "Do what?!"

"Axel…"

"Ah shit…Ima get raped…I don't want to be raped! Especially by that old fart who probably hasn't had a hard on in…ever…" Roxas laughed, but was worried.

"Hello" Xaldin slammed the door open with an evil smirk on his face "Do you know what today is?" he asked.

Axel looked away and smiled "Pudding day?" he asked, Xaldin held his vice grip on Axel's neck once more.

"Time for your operation…" he announced.

Keeping the redhead in his grip, he put him on a stretcher and strapped him in, putting him to sleep immediately "Good night" he said, before smacking him unconscious.

~o~

"_Axel! Axel wake up!"_ Roxas' voice echoed through Axel's head, giving him a slight migraine. He managed to open his eyes, he was strapped to a cold table, he felt the coldness of the room all over his body, his pale and skinny body for all to show, his member limp in its place.

"Well, we shall finally move on to the final stage…" Hojo stated, all of the protective garments on, Vexen next to him, trying to pry his eyes from the red pubes.

"_Damn it…can't there at least be one cute nurse…_" the redhead thought in disgust, he had a mask on his face which fed him air and his body felt numb.

"Are you going to use anesthesia this time?" Vexen asked.

"Like I said before that chemical makes it harder for anything to grow, it stops everything, so to answer your question Number IV, no, I won't" the man stated coldly, though Axel did feel numb, maybe Xaldin did him a favor, or…the man with the blue eyes that looked down on him with concern as he put a few needles on his arms and chest.

"This is as far as I go…" the man of blue eyes said, leaving.

"Heh, no stomach for the sciences…" Hojo mocked "Let's begin…"

Two tubes came down from the ceiling, one was filled with a small number of the remaining Jenova cells from a small number of geostigma victims that Hojo 'recovered', and another pitch black; pure darkness inside.

"First the Jenova cells…" Hojo said, Vexen took out a small tube out of the large container and stuck it in the needle on Axel's left arm; his eyes grew wide and he let out a muffled yell, he was in intense pain, he could only hear Roxas in a muffle, his peridot eyes seemingly glowing.

"All right, next the Mako bath…" the man ordered, Xaldin opened a large tube on top of Axel and out poured a large amount of the green liquid in the form of a gas; all other's, except Axel left the room for at least 20 minutes.

At the top of the medical room was a watcher's room, a room with a glass that looked into the operation was there, Specimen's XI and XII were there.

"Gosh…What I wouldn't give to…" the man with the pink hair and blue eyes sighed, a little fantasy formed in his head.

"That scrawny little thing? You'd probably break him…" said the girl of short blonde hair, two antennae sticking out, she also had blue eyes "…Thing is though, he kind of reminds me of someone, makes me want to rip them right off…" the man next to her winced at the thought.

"Shouldn't you two be elsewhere?" the man in the bandana came in.

"Oh relax, we're just here to watch the show…" the girl said nonchalant.

"Though…" the man was already next to the covered man, leaving a trail with his fingers with his hand "…if you offered me a little something I'd go peacefully…" he smirked, getting a kick to the head from the girl.

"Don't mind him, he's just hormonal…" she smirked.

"Larxene!" the man shrieked "My beautiful face! You almost damaged it!"

"Give it a rest Marluxia, you know I have more balls than you do" she laughed.

"Why I outta…" he growled.

"Enough!" Hojo came in "You two! Go tend to the one's in the basement, are we clear?" the other two straightened out and muttered a yes sir, before running out quietly "They might be odd, but they're powerful, surprising for a woman though, so many hormones and such, but this one, so much rage inside of her…" he smirked "…It's quite the show…" he sighed, fixing his glasses "Well, back to work…" he said casually.

The man with the bandana glared at Hojo, who knew such an unstable man could be so brilliant yet moronic at the same time?

"Now…insert the Fire materia" the scientist ordered, Xaldin did as he was told and struck Axel's chest with it, his eyes almost dropping out of his eye sockets.

"His vitals are decreasing sir" a nurse said.

"Yes, yes, he'll be fine" he told her, the wound healing quickly, Xaldin smirked at the young man.

"_Axel…I…_" Roxas sobbed, he felt Axel's pain, his agony, his desperation.

"Don't say anything Roxy…it's ok…don't worry about me…I'll be fine…" though in his heart he knew it was a lie "Do me a favor Roxas…"

"Anything!"

"Go to Reno and get some answers, I bet Zexion would love to help you out…"

"What about you?" he asked.

"_Well…I think I'll take Hojo to hell with me…_" Roxas felt the smirk in Axel, he meant what he said.

"_What!? Are you crazy!? Axel! I just found you again and…_" Roxas was cut short, as a light blinded him, when he opened them he saw he was himself again, but he was nowhere near Twilight Square.

~o~

Everything was pitch black, except for the floor: a glass stained floor, with a giant Roxas painted on it, an almost faded Axel next to him, a weird white symbol and what looked like a key with a circle with spikes in the center.

"Where am I?" the blonde asked himself.

"I have something for you…" a familiar voice said, the redhead stood a few feet away from Roxas, standing tall with his favorite clothes on, faded jeans and a t-shirt that said in a loud red color 'Bite me'.

"Axel!" Roxas smiled, which made his friend smile.

"I missed that smile…" he said, truthfully "…but…there's not much time…this body of mine won't hold out any longer…my heart can't bear this torture…"

"What?! No!" Roxas yelled "You can't…you can't leave me! Not before I…"

"Here already" he chuckled; a light drifted from Axel to Roxas, filling the boy with warmth, he looked back at the redhead, baffled "My heart…it's always belonged to you, Roxas…"

"You…" Roxas shook, and balled up his fists, angry and distressed.

"I'm sorry I made such a mess of that day, I wish I could take it back but…"

"No!" Roxas cut in "You don't get to do this! You don't say you're sorry! I do! You don't tell me you're leaving! I have to ask you to come back! And…and…I…" he sobbed.

"I'm sorry…" Axel looked down, ashamed to meet those blue eyes that captivated him every single time "…See you in the next life…" he said before disappearing.

"Axel!" Roxas yelled to the void, everything going black.

~o~

"Administer the darkness…" Hojo ordered.

"All right…" Vexen breathed out, annoyed, he knew the procedure already, Hojo just loved the sound of his voice; he was about to administer it when the nurse cut in.

"Sir, the heart monitor…it's stopped…"

"What!?" he yelled "Isn't that stupid machine beeping? He's fine!"

"The 'Hikari' monitor sir…" she said, Hojo looked at her in disbelief and ran to the machine, it read zero.

"How can this be!? It was shining brightly minutes ago!"

"Heh…" Axel breathed out "...have you ever…" he heaved, dark circles forming in his eyes "…heard the…" he huffed "…expression…if you play with fire…" he choked "You'll…get burned?" the doctor's looked on in disbelief, the darkness swirled inside Axel, as did the Mako and Jenova, which would explain his new strength, but, with no light in the first place he should be "…Commit it to memory…you…weak-minded old fart…" he then focused on the materia and felt the surge of fire inside, he let out a yell as a giant explosion of flames burst out of him and blew up the room, a window outside the building breaking, glass falling to the ground below.

~o~

"Axel!!" Roxas yelled out, now awake and back in at the park.

He looked around frantically and saw the explosion and the fire at the building, running as fast as he could toward it.

~o~

Vexen coughed loudly as he appeared inside the room again; using a dark portal he had escaped the blast. He looked to his right and saw Xaldin, who used his power of Wind to shield himself and Hojo, though anyone one else wasn't that lucky.

"What the hell happened!?" Hojo yelled once more, feeling sluggish and slightly burned.

"It seems…the experiment was a failure…" Vexen said, amused.

"Not quite…" said a new voice.

All three of them looked on, as a man who sometimes haunted Hojo's dreams appeared in front of him.

"I have a message for you…'Father'…your day of reckoning is coming…wait for it…" the man with pale green mako eyes and long silver hair said.

"Y-You…b-but…you're supposed to be dead!" the shriveled man trembled "Sephiroth!"

"Wrong again…though close…" the man smirked "You were always a fool Hojo, shall always be…but honestly…who'd want a father like you? One who admonishes and tortures his children…they'll come back to give you your 'love' back one day you know…" he told him, a cattish grin on his face, Xaldin tried to attack but those cat like eyes pierced through him like ice; the former hero bowed and all the smoke concentrated unto him, leaving only Axel's body on the ground, full of smoke and soot but nothing else.

Hojo shook were he stood, he never believed in magic, in omens and such, only in hard cold science, but this, this was too much.

"Get him out of here" Vexen said "And bring me another machine, I'd like to check something…" Xaldin nodded and left with Hojo; a new nurse came in with a machine.

"The Jenova cells were destroyed… and the darkness swirls inside in an empty body…with no heart to devour this is an utter failure…" Vexen was puzzled, this had never happened before "Intriguing, but a waste of time…toss it out" he told the nurse, the head of security happened to over hear and offered to do it.

"It has to be done quickly and in secret, allow me" he told him, Vexen nodded and left, going straight to his office to write this all down.

~o~

The man put a black cloak on Axel and gently put him in a bag, stuffing him in the back of his car. He knew someone would find a use for Axel, but not here, and soon, they might even enlist the young redhead's help, but for now, he needed to keep him safe. As he rode out of the underground parking lot, he saw a blonde with similar blue eyes to his run toward the building.

"…_I see now…_" the man thought "_It's doable after all…_" he sped up the minute he found the time to, heading south.

~o~

"Let me in!" Roxas yelled, grabbing the iron gates to the building "Axel!" he cried out "Let me in! I have to see him!" he kept yelling, he felt a familiar hand tug at him as he kept crying out for his friend desperately.

* * *

A/N: Roxas also likes reviews, and Axel likes Roxas...O.o...


	8. Chapter 7: Descendant of Darkness II

Welcome to another chapter of Downpour! Hopefully y'all enjoyed yourselves this far because after the end of this chapter, all the wheels, or at least a few more will be sent into motion. Please enjoy!

* * *

Chapter VII: Descendant of Darkness II

Riku and Sora had been gathering food and such for the Takejima residence, walking down the Main Street of the Twilight District. Sora wore simple jeans, the shirt from this morning, a black jacket, his favorite, over it and his black and yellow sneakers, while Riku still had his black clothes from before.

"Isn't this a little too much?" Riku asked trying to keep his balance; he had two bags full of canned meats, fruit and some bathroom stuff.

"Not really, four people live in that house…well, five if you decide to stay" Sora said with a smile, Riku accepted he did that often, which he really didn't mind, but, what was he so happy about?

"All right then…" he looked over and Sora only had one bag, full, but only one, he felt slightly cheated "So, what now?"

"Well, he have at least 500 munny left, so, we should try and get you something to wear…" though he didn't really mind what he had on.

"Are you sure that's enough?" Riku asked in disbelief.

"It depends on where you go…" Sora said, looking around "Oh! Here…" he quickly jogged down the street, to the corner of 4th and Dawn.

"'Jessie's Parlor'?" Riku asked.

"Yup! Cheapest place in town, but also pretty good, any other place is a total rip off" the boy of blue eyes chuckled.

~o~

The bell on top of the door clinked as both boys came inside, a woman putting clothes in a rack turned. Her red hair in a pony tail, while her dark eyes seemed amused "_Sora and a new guy…_" she smiled widely and said: "Welcome to Jessie's" she said.

"Hi Jessie, this is Riku" the boy of green eyes nodded "We're looking for some cheap clothes" he chuckled.

The woman frowned "Did you just call me cheap? I may not be as pricey as most stores in this town, but my quality is unmatched! My clothes are almost fireproof, rainproof, and even blizzard proof…I'm working on lighting proof though…" she mumbled "Anyhow, take a look around Riku, pick out something you like…"

"Really?" he looked over at Sora, who nodded "All right…" he smirked, going around and looking "Um…I don't really know my size…" he admitted.

"Oh, ok then, let me measure you then…" the woman said, taking out a measuring tape from the back pocket of her baggy jeans. Riku felt a little odd, being measured so closely by a woman and Sora staring and giggling didn't help "Well…you're a 30 waist and 34 length on pants…and a shirt I recommend small adult…" Riku nodded and returned to his scavenging.

Jessie took their groceries and put them behind the counter, and smiling cheekily she began her torture of Sora.

"So, where'd you find this little stud huh?" she giggled.

"Um…well…" he blushed.

"Such a handsome guy if I've ever seen one…you made a move yet?" she asked, making Sora blush even more.

"It's not like that!" he said in his defense, arms flailing around "I only met him today!"

"So? He seems nice enough…" she winked "…when's the last time you took a risk?"

"…I don't even know if…" he was about to finish his sentence when he looked to his side, Riku had found a pair of dark blue baggy jeans, which covered a pair of white sneakers he seemed to have found, he felt the blood rush through his face and threaten to fall out of his nose: Riku **totally** forgot a shirt.

"What do you think about these?" he asked, about the pants.

"Very nice, you might need a belt though, lemme see if I have one" she said, leaving the counter, laughing her ass off the minute she got to the back.

"What's with her?" the silver haired boy chuckled.

Sora couldn't even muster up a word _"…what…a….body…I wonder if...No! Bad Sora! Bad thoughts!_" he thought.

Riku saw his new friend fidget and mumble to himself, he found it odd yet amusing, and he walked closer to him wanting to say something.

"Hey Sora…" he began

"Wha!?" he almost yelled, looking up and trying hard not to look down, feeling a little swelling in his own nether regions.

"…this is really nice of you guys, I don't know how to thank you…" he admitted.

"Oh, no thanks necessary, though, I'm thinking my aunt might want to ask you a few more serious questions when we get back, is that ok with you?" he asked

"…I'll…give it a shot…" he admitted, though in reality, he had no clue whether to lie or just leave altogether.

"Here you go" Jessie said when she came back.

"Thanks…" Riku nodded and went in search of a shirt.

"Now wasn't that a kick in the pants?" Jessie asked; snort laughing while Sora had his mortified face on.

"Kill me…" he breathed out "_It seemed so soft…and…those nip…Bad Sora!"_ Sora groaned in frustration, running his hand through his hair like crazy, while Jessie giggled amused.

"Well?" Riku said, he now had a sleeveless black shirt, which zipped up and a white jacket with the shoulder rim in yellow, it complemented his skin and hair totally.

"Wow Riku! You know how to dress yourself after all" Sora grinned.

"Shut up…" he retorted "…How much?" he asked her

"Well…I'll throw in the belt and shirt for free…and I'll give you my new-comer discount, so the total would be…99.99 munny"

"Really? I expected a little more…" Riku blinked

"Like I said, it's not like the normal stores here, Jessie makes most of these clothes and gets her materials from local friends, she's also a gadget freak" Sora said, handing her 100 munny.

"Thank you for your patronage" she said, handing them their groceries and a receipt.

They both said goodbye, and Sora added the bag with Riku's old clothes to his arm. As they left, Riku felt a sense of peace, it's as if he had a new life, like nothing that had happened happened, but, that small feeling of dread kept creeping up now and again.

~o~

"We have a little time before we have to head home" Sora said as they traveled in the Tram heading to the north part of the Twilight District "Is there something you'd like to do?"

"Yeah actually…" he smirked.

"What?" Sora asked enthusiastically.

"Let's talk" Riku stated, both of them chuckling.

"All right, so…"

"Tell me more about you, though I think I can pretty much guess…" he smirked.

"Oh really?" Sora asked in a slight glare "Tell me then"

"Well…you're a hard-worker but like to slack off, you're a good natured person and would help an old woman cross the street, even if she doesn't want to, you talk a lot, you smile a lot, you eat a lot, you're both athletic and artistic, and to top it all off you're a bit…soft…"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Sora quirked an eyebrow at this.

"Ah…you're also a little slow, a bit too innocent and would probably need a dictionary sometimes…" Sora glared even more "You also look like a puffer fish when you get mad" he laughed.

"Well…at least I got you to laugh…" he said, still pouting.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist, but, what I meant was, well, you seem to get embarrassed easy and you blush easy too" he smirked, Sora's ears going red "Your ears do it too?" he asked, making it even worse.

"Stop teasing me!" Sora said, making Riku laugh even more.

~o~

When they got off they walked up the large slope, which had apartments and stores, one caught Riku's interest, Merlin's bookstore.

"You want to go in?" Sora asked, smirking, putting a 'nerd' sticker on Riku's face on his mind.

"I do" he nodded "It's been a long time since I've read something…I need to catch up on things, do we have time?" he asked.

"Well…" he looked around and managed to spot the clock tower in the distance "It's only 4, we need to get back at 5 so we have time" he smiled and saw Riku's enthusiastic face.

"Thanks" he said, quickly going inside.

He opened the door and then found a wooden floor with a sliding door in front.

"Leave your shoes here" Sora said, as he took off his yellow and black sneakers

"All right…" he said, doing the same "You have pretty big feet for a scrawny guy" he chuckled

"And you have small feet…" the other stated, sticking his tongue at him; they left the groceries there as well and walked inside. A desk to their right and everywhere else was full of books and shelves, even on the floor; it seemed to stretch forever though it looked small on the outside.

"Well this is rare…" a female voice said "…Sora in my bookstore, I'd never thought I'd see the day" she emerged from the back, like a shadow, her purple eyes intent on Riku, who eyed her back curiously.

Sora noticed, but didn't really take it as serious "This is Riku, he's new in town…and what do you mean?" he asked, his puffer pout on.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Lulu, the curator of this place" she said, bowing her head.

"Hello…" he bowed back, and then he went out of his thoughts when he saw mountain after mountain of books.

"I have fiction, non-fiction, history, literature, how-to's and don'ts, as well as comics…" Sora grinned at the finale, but Riku was enthralled; the only thing he had as entertainment as a kid were books, stories that took him to far-away lands and places, where adventure, love and loss waited at every corner; a deep longing for travel had returned to Riku and found himself acknowledging that his life has been one, a complete and utter tragedy, but still an adventure.

"Do you have past events as well? I've kind of missed out on the last 3 years or so" he said to her, which struck her as odd.

"To your left…" she said and he ran there, excited "…How did you meet this boy?" she asked.

"Um…he crawled into the basement window…" he admitted, Lulu was the second woman he couldn't lie to, they way her eyes bore into him, plus the supposed rumor that she's into voodoo didn't help "…and he's now here…basically…"

"I see…have you ever seen him before? What do you know of him?" she kept insisting.

"No idea…" he admitted, which now that he thought about, he hadn't ask him anything, nothing serious anyway "…but I think I'll get to that now" he nodded and followed Riku.

"_That boy…he reeks of darkness…so terrible…yet…he emits a gentle glow…very strange…hmm 3 years or so…_" she sat on the stool behind her desk and let herself be lost to memories, all the while shuffling her own deck of 22 Aeons, divination one of her strong points.

~o~

Sora found Riku already halfway through a Huckleberry Goofy book, three more next to him, and different types of books. He slowly deposited himself next to Riku and looked around, waiting for the boy of pale green eyes to notice.

"Something wrong?" Riku asked his nose still in the book.

"Well…earlier you said that we should talk…and well…I'd like to…" he knew he was being selfish, Riku's reading and found a nice place to be, he hated being a bother, but it began to gnaw at him that he hardly knew the boy next to him.

"All right" he smiled, making a note of the page he was on and gently put it to his side.

"Well…where are you from? How old are you? And…why do you seem so scattered about everything?" he asked; Riku felt a tug at his heart, he'd have to lie to sorry to keep him safe, yet…he felt compelled to the truth, but knew it might backfire someday.

"Well, I believe I'm originally from Radiant Garden, I've been in an orphanage since I was five, my parents were killed in an accident, I lived in that place since I was 15, but then I was taken to work on a nearby company…" he then hesitated, he didn't want to delve into the truth, of himself, of Shinra, of how sullied he is, how deep in darkness he truly was "…I'm 18 right now, If I remember correctly I'll be 19 soon…I think…" he blinked.

"See, that's what I mean, you're so unsure of stuff since I met you, have you been somewhere all this time?" he asked.

"I…" Riku stuttered, he looked away, that puffer pout was pathetic, but hell if it wasn't cute.

"I'm sorry…" Sora said suddenly "I shouldn't push the truth out of you…it's not fair of me…but, whenever you feel comfortable and ready, I'm willing to listen" he smiled broadly, meaning his words "I know we've only known each other for a short time, but I feel like I've been with you for a long time Riku, that's why…I'll try everything to make sure you feel welcome, ok?" he nodded firmly, his blue eyes full of determination, and maybe…some sort of affection?

"Thanks…" Riku said, relieved "…I hope I'll be able to…someday…" Sora gave him a firm nod and smiled.

"Now, I'll go get my comic book" he smiled, standing up and heading back to Lulu.

"…I feel like I'm taking you for granted…you're giving me so much Sora…and I…I'm hiding all these things from you…I feel like dirt…" he sighed loudly, sniffing slightly, thinking of the possible loss of the only friend he truly ever had.

~o~

A half an hour had passed, Riku had read two books and was well on his way to his third. Sora was by his side, passed out into his comic book, snoring lightly. Riku smiled, chuckling, he sat up, putting his book in a pile and walked toward the curator, Soul Eater in hand.

"Excuse me…hey!" he yelped, chains appeared and covered him, bounding him to the floor, Soul Eater vanishing in the process.

"You reek a foul darkness…" the woman said lightly, sitting in her stool behind the counter, playing with her cards "…yet there's gentleness in it…"

"You emit it too…it's small but it is still there…" he said, struggling, a small growl was emitted behind the woman of dark hair, she smirked.

"Call off your Familiar, there's no need to fight…"

"You chained me up!" he berated.

"You took out your weapon first…" she added, Riku frowned, and sighed, his Guardian appearing, hovering like a ghost, the chains around it's master disappearing.

"Tell me," he said, taking a breath "…who or what are you?"

"A humble bookstore owner in reality…" she said, looking up toward him, her amethyst eyes looking straight at him "…but, my existence is that of a Sorceress…" she admitted bitterly.

"A Sorceress?" that sounded familiar "…I see, I've heard of those…but…" he looked her over "Don't Sorceresses usually have a physical deformation?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"What do you think these are?" she asked, looking down at her assets; Riku felt embarrassed "I've had them since I was 12 and they don't plan on leaving, so stop staring if you don't want a thunderbolt through that pretty little head…"

"Right…" Riku sighed, feeling stupid for even mentioning it.

"As I was saying, yes I am a Sorceress. I received them as a girl from a woman on the verge of death, I was sixteen then, Terra I believe her name was, though I only noticed when I accidentally burned down a bakery, I was a little too mad…" hence her mellow attitude' she meant "That is why I have darkness inside, though all beings carry both light and darkness…you shouldn't judge just by one of them…" she paused, putting a stray hair behind her ear "Though, as you can see, Sora's darkness is practically unseen…it makes him vulnerable…" she frowned, a card divination seemed to turn sour.

"I understand…he's…naïve and innocent, quick to jump into anything without thinking first…but, it makes him what he is…" Riku contemplated.

"Like I said before though, it makes him vulnerable…" she said, the shuffling of cards the only thing heard throughout the store, that, and Sora's audible call for cheesecake "…I have one thing to ask of you…" she looked over at the Guardian, which amused itself at glaring at a candle "I know enough to know where you come from and how dangerous that is…" she looked back at him with fierce eyes, Riku even flinched "…protect Sora, help him, the boy is too good and too curious for his own good and Shinra isn't something to be toiled with, **ever**…"

"I know that…" he added "…which is why I'm unsure of considering staying with him…they'll look for me…relentlessly…"

"Who said your fate was to return? You need to stay by his side" she stated

"What!?" Riku's was shocked, the Guardian even flinched, and if it had any emotion, it would've laughed.

"Think about it…that massive amount of light, they would be drawn to it inevitably, it's better to be safe than sorry…" she then stood up, standing in front of the Guardian, which let her pass. Riku pondered while she returned; would it really be better to stay? His Guardian he could hide, true, but the darkness inside…

"Here…" she said, handing him what looked like two key chains, one with three circular shapes, silver in color and another in the shape of a heart, black and red "…take these"

"What for?"

"Keep the black one with you at all times, it shall keep them from smelling your darkness, only your light will be apparent, the other is for Sora should the need arise" she said, an air of mystery behind it all.

"Fine…" he sighed, but inside he was glad, so glad "…Thank you" he said whole-heartedly; He could stay, with everyone, in this town, with Sora, without worrying too much about Hojo or his madness, though he knew it wouldn't be forever, he knew it would last for a while.

~o~

"Hey…Sora…" was what he heard as he stirred from his food filled dream.

"Hmm…" he mumbled "…What?" he asked.

"It's time to go, it's already five-ten"

"Wah!" he wailed "Why didn't you wake me sooner!?" he struggled to stand and tripped, falling into Riku's arm.

"Something wrong?" the silver haired youth asked.

"My…legs are asleep…" he admitted dumbly, Riku chuckled.

"You really are a handful, aren't you?" he said teasingly.

"Mean…mean Riku…" the other pouted. He then suddenly realized that Riku was holding him up, both his arms around Sora's slender form, it brought a blush to his face "Um…" he stuttered.

"Think you can walk now?" the other asked.

"Uh…" he mumbled; had Riku read his thoughts? Though now he kinda regretted them seeing as how nice it felt to be held by him, but it would be so awkward, so he slightly stepped a bit away and jumped.

"All better" he smiled, Riku nodded, walking toward the front.

"Thanks again" the silver-haired one told the woman.

"See you around" she told them, waving slightly with an odd grin, she had felt the shift of energy when those two touched; it warmed up the whole room. They sat down on the step and put their shoes on, when Sora noticed the key chains on Riku's waist.

"What are those, key chains?" he asked.

"Yeah…" he nodded, giving the silver one to Sora "…Lulu gave me those, that one's for you"

"Wow! A Mickey key chain!" he chuckled, all giddy.

"Who?"

"Mickey Mouse! He's a famous character" he goaded over it, shining it and putting it in his pocket "Let's go!" he said, all energetic.

~o~

They walked uphill for a few minutes; it was already around five-twenty "_Aunt Quistis won't be happy…_" Sora thought.

They got to the Train Station that would take them to the East side, when Riku turned around, his whole body shivered slightly, and saw an explosion erupt from the Shinra building.

"Whoah!" Sora said, the people around them also voiced their astonishment and looked over toward the place. Riku was the only with a stern look on his face, he tried to make any of the faint smells from the building out, but noticed one, it was completely new, it felt powerful and almost sucked him in, but it left as soon as he noticed it.

* * *

A/N: Review!!!!!


	9. Chapter 8:Part 1: Melodious

Ok, so, I think I skipped ahead, sorry...I'll be dividing Chapter 8 into three parts since it's way too long and it's a very emotional part of the story. I believe you'll be surprised by these three and the amount of cameos and such on it, I know I was when I wrote it =]

Charge!!!

Note: Thanks to my friend Tearyu and reviewer Bun Nuit Leone for the support; as for Roxas' role on the story, you'll see, though Chapter VI is the beginning for him; and the Major Arcana influence for the Summoning Zexion those stems form the fact that I had a Persona fetish at the moment and it stuck with me lol

* * *

Chapter VIII: Dancing-Investigation

It was Thursday morning, another morning Zexion would have to wake up after having passed out, it wasn't the first time it happened, and it probably won't be the last.

Zexion stirred on his bed "_It __**is**__ my bed, right?_" he thought.

The back of his head hurt, and as he sat up he felt a weight on top of him. He opened his left eye and blinked to get a clear view, pushing a few stray strands of hair out of his face.

"_I remember…I…passed out and fell on the floor and then…nothing…_" his head pounded, but he needed to fight through it.

He finally noticed the weight he felt was none other than the blonde that took his bed, Demyx.

"Well aren't you cozy?" he mumbled "Hey…" he said, shaking him "…wake up…" he felt too weak to yell, his head pounded insanely "Damn it…" he sighed and gave the boy a jolt of electricity.

"Wah!" Demyx wailed falling backwards "Ow…my butt…" he groaned, he sat up and looked at the hunched over Zexion who looked tired and in pain "Thank god!" he said, running over and hugging him.

"Hey!" Zexion said, in surprise "What are you doing!?" he felt his hair tickle his slightly open chest "Stop this!" he told him.

"I was so worried!" he told him, sitting next to him "You were on the floor when I woke up last night to go to the bathroom, I hardly slept!" and he looked it, his hair was looking messier than it already was and his eyes were red.

Zexion cleared his throat and looked away, he felt flustered, those sea-green eyes threatening to swallow him whole again "…Did you put me here?" he asked, Demyx nodded, he then jerked his head to look at him and glared "What were you doing in my bed?"

"Oh!" Demyx was taken by surprise and blushed "Well…um…it's not what you think!" he expressed while Zexion smirked, sitting back.

"What am I thinking?" he asked, smugly.

"Um…" Demyx chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head "…I wasn't going to like, 'do' anything to you…I just…well…" Zexion raised his eyebrow and was stifling his laughter, Demyx flustered, he deemed it amusing and cute "_Did I just think cute?_" he thought.

"I just have an odd habit…I need to sleep in a place I feel comfortable in…and well…your room felt oddly like that…that's all…" he looked away embarrassed "_Though, truthfully, it's you who feels familiar…_"

"Are you sure?" Zexion asked, he saw the distant look in Demyx's eyes, he had been thinking something, but the blonde only nodded "All right…" he told him "Now, would you please get off, I hate wasting time…" Demyx got up and stood in the doorway, while Zexion removed the covers and sat up; Demyx couldn't help but stifle a laugh "What?" the lilac haired man asked.

"I didn't notice but…in those blue pajamas you look like a little kid" he chuckled.

"…I have half a mind to throw you out, you're keeping me from my work…" he said annoyed "What time is it anyway?" he looked outside and was able to make out the clock tower "Only 9 am…" he sighed and as he began walking toward the door he felt himself go, as if his mind was about to leave him, Zexion was about to fall when he felt arms drag him up, his face on a quickly-beating heart "…Medicine…" he mumbled.

"Right…" Demyx nodded, his eyes full of worry, holding the smaller man tightly.

"_So familiar…_" both of them found themselves thinking; Demyx helped Zexion to the couch in the living room and handed him some tea and pills, to the owner's directions.

"Thanks…" he answered hoarsely, taking it all down; he then looked Demyx over "…We should get you more clothes, it's unsanitary to wear the same clothes each day…" he told him.

"Not to mention the chafing, I hate not having underwear…" He said, tugging at his pants, making Zexion blush, a lot.

"Well…" the lilac haired boy cleared his throat "…we'll take care of that later…" Zexion sat up and took a look around "…Did you…move anything?" he asked, his eye seemingly twitching.

"Why?" Demyx said, a little hesitant.

"Those books in the corner are out of order…I had them by genre, they look alphabetical…and those files…they're not where I had them before…" he glared at the blonde who tried to look anywhere but at Zexion "Demyx…" he said sternly.

"Ok, I did! I was so nervous when I found you on the floor that I couldn't sit still…so…I cleaned…" he chuckled nervously.

The mentioned books began to move oddly while Zexion's cold stare never moved from the blonde.

"I'm putting up with you because you're sick, you have no memory and you could blow up the biggest case in years, but do **not** under any circumstances **touch…my…things!**" he yelled, a book flying over Demyx's head, several others floating along Zexion who quickly stalked over to him.

"Um…" Demyx ran "Sorry! I'm sorry!" he walked down the small hallway into Zexion's room, before he could though two more books smacked themselves on the fall wall "I thought your job was to keep me safe!"

"Not when you invade my privacy!" the other yelled again, he said chucking another book, Demyx began to laugh as he dodged another book "Why are you laughing?" he asked, annoyed.

"You're such a kid" he giggled, another book passing his way as he ducked into the room.

"I'll show you childish…" Zexion grumbled, walking into his room, seeing his target in the middle of his room, like a deer caught in headlights, he felt oddly amused "…Well?" he smirked.

"Um…hey…didn't you buy that one yesterday? Do you really want to mess it up?" he asked, Zexion quirked an eyebrow and looked to his side, he was right, but as soon as he did, Demyx tried to run past him.

"Hey!" he called out, grabbing Demyx by the hem of his shirt and the surprisingly strong detective tugged him back causing him to turn and lose his balance, causing him to fall over the shorter man.

"Whoa!" the blonde called out, hearing a slight thud under him; when he opened his eyes, two thuds were two books to his back, the other was the lilac haired host who had hit his head and was between his legs "…" Demyx gulped, both for fear of pissing him off even more and the fact he was so close to him "Hey…Zexion…" he said "…Zexy…are you-ah!" he yelled as he suddenly found the same smaller man on top of him, a murderous glare on his face.

"I don't get it…" he began "…Why am I even doing this? You're making me waste time on meaningless things…"

"Aw, c'mon, don't tell me you didn't have a little fun? Don't you ever get tired of doing things so seriously?" Demyx asked, the other looking away, sitting down in front of him.

"…Things that are organized and orderly don't have a knack for blowing up in your face, you can easily expect things and analyze them quicker…" he told him.

"What's the fun in that?" Demyx crossed his arms, matching his hosts gaze "You're still young you know, a little spontaneity won't kill you, there's no need to be so cooped up all the time…"

"Well, I'm sorry, but I like order and I like to be able to be in control…there's nothing wrong with that…" Zexion admitted with his head low.

"Does it…have to do with?" he knew he might be doing something a little bold, but, Demyx felt a great familiarity to Zexion and he was sure that all of his years stuck in the Shinra building meant he has never seen him, so why then? He crawled closer to him and sat closely to him, the other looked at him, his face flushed, uttering a small: "What are you doing?" Demyx only smiled and slowly moved his left had to Zexion's face, the right side

"Do you fear losing control because of this?" he asked, though he found himself stunned, it felt so smooth, as if nothing was there.

"..S-Stop…" the detective breathed out, his left eye never leaving Demyx's aquamarine one's, he felt the strands of hair, his shield, his control, slip away. The blonde's eyes widened, all that made up the right side of Zexion's face was blank, not even a silhouette of what should be there, he caressed the area as if it were his own fault.

"I'm…sorry…" he choked "…How?"

"I-I…" the other stuttered "…It was all a stupid mistake on my part…It wouldn't have happened if I had kept myself under **control**…" he sniffed, feeling as if he were about to crumble.

"…All I want to be is a friend to you…You saved my life after all…I would have probably been found by Shinra if it weren't for you…you gave me back my name, my identity, all I am is grateful…I just, I wish you would trust me…I'll do anything to earn it…"

"…I'd like that…but the fact of the matter still stands, you still don't know who you truly are or why you were given these powers, I'm afraid of the man of Shinra you don't remember to be and I cannot allow you to endanger anyone…so…" Zexion took a large breath and stood, his shaking body held by Demyx once more "…You're welcome to stick around and to stay but that doesn't mean I trust you, that doesn't mean I won't think twice of what you say and it doesn't mean I'll be lenient on you…" the blonde only smiled and nodded, he wouldn't have it any other way "…You understand…now, let's go, we're going to be late for breakfast…"

"Ok, but, you have to admit to me one thing…" he said, still a grin on his face, the other looked back, curious "…You had fun chasing me and pelting me with books, didn't you?" he still smiled, Zexion smirked, was close to laughing.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he asked, smirk present and he left for the bathroom.

Demyx laughed "I knew it…same old…I…I…what?" a memory stuck to his head, a name, but was fuzzy, déjà vu falling over once more; could they maybe had a past life together?

~o~

Cleaned up and ready to go, they left the apartment, the sitar back in it's cover and on Demyx's back, and they headed over to the Freeshooter for the usual breakfast the young detective has with his companions; a little deal they made when they began working together.

"So…after eating we're going shopping, right? I mean…" Demyx went on, complaining about the chafing.

"Yes! For the umpteenth time!" he answered, exasperated, not to mention blushing "Just stop mentioning it, okay?"

"Aw, is Zexy embarrassed?" he teased.

"Don't make me…" he glared back, the other made a squeaking sound and hid behind a lamppost, chuckling "And you call me childish…" he sighed.

~o~

"Finally, there you are!" Hayner waved from his seat in the booth on the corner, wearing tanned shorts, a white sleeveless shirt and a brown vest "We're starving man!" he groaned.

"Yeah, I can't live on air you know, I'm a growing boy" smiled Pence, wearing a dark blue struggle t-shirt and jeans.

"It's unusual for you to be late…" Olette added, looking at her watch, her orange skirt making the room kind of pop "Did something happen?"

"You could say that…" the detective answered, sitting down opposite to them, Demyx sat next to him as well, putting the sitar next to the booth.

"Hi guys" he smiled.

"Hey it's mullet boy" Hayner added with a smile "So…did you have hot, passionate butt sex with our boss?" he asked with a grin: Olette almost spilled her ice tea, Pence was laughing his ass off, and Zexion, well, was stunned to say the least.

"Hmmm…" Demyx pondered "Well…" he grinned, making Zexion glare even more, not to mention blush, would he really lie? "I'm kidding! We didn't do anything! I was passed out on the couch!" he smiled, Zexion could breathe easy, he'd kill Hayner later.

"Aw, that's too bad…" he laughed "…_I want a piece though…_"

"So, would you kids want breakfast or should I come back after you ask Zexion his underwear size and color?" Xigbar chimed in, Zexion couldn't believe it, was it bother the detective day?

"Would you all just drop it and ask the orders?" said detective asked through his teeth.

"All right man, chill" he chuckled "I'm betting you'll all have your usual, what about you blondie?"

"Me? Well…what are you having?" he looked toward Zexion.

"A normal egg, bacon and toast breakfast…" he said.

"Boring!" Demyx exclaimed, the kids laughed "How 'bout you guys?"

"I usually have the same thing as Zexion…only with iced tea and no cheese, I'm lactose intolerant"

"Right, right!" Xigbar exclaimed "Reminder: Don't kill the little browned haired girl" he scribbled on his pad.

"We always have a giant stack of blueberry pancakes!" Hayner said, pointing to his chubby friend.

"I'll have a slightly bigger stack of pancakes with cherry and powdered sugar" the blonde finally answered.

"Ok, that's…4 usuals and an upgraded usual…check, I'll be back" the man with the eye-patch turned to get the food ready.

"Where's Naminé?" the lilac haired man asked suddenly.

"Not sure…" the man said, scratching the back of his head, going to the back to cook the orders.

"Anyway…I'm sorry I'm late…" Zexion sighed, the other's just nodded and dismissed it "Something unexpected happened last night…I got a package at my house that apparently belongs to Demyx…"

"Who?" Hayner asked.

"I'm Demyx, nice to meet ya!" he smiled; the other's looked in awe.

"…We got a card with the name, along with an instrument, a blue sitar…" he gestured Demyx to take out the instrument from its brown paper casing "Apparently it belongs to him, but there's no sender, so I think we were followed…"

"Any idea who?" the other blonde asked Demyx.

"Well…um…" he crossed his arms, trying to think, all it did was hurt "…Sorry, no idea yet…"

"It's all right, your memories seem to come back slowly, we can't expect for Shinra to be so talkative about their secrets, be them in paper or in people…" he ended, drinking his morning coffee, which Xigbar's second waitress, a girl with a green eye and another blue brought it in.

"Hey, you're new aren't you? What's your name?" Hayner suddenly asked.

"My name's Yuna" she bowed "I'll be working here from now on" she smiled.

"Welcome" Zexion greeted, earning a blush from the girl.

"Thank you," she giggled, "Um, I was wondering…could I have your autograph?" she asked, Zexion quirked an eyebrow.

"Yes! I-I Well…I know you've only been about for four years but I've collected all of your newspaper articles and stuff, and I'm a big fan" the girl giggled, her short brown hair and braid jumping up and down, her purple skirt flowing as she moved "Please?" she asked.

"…All right…" Zexion sighed "Do you have any-of course…" he chuckled, the girl had a giant notebook, which in fact held of Zexion's articles, not only his detective articles but his college articles as well "Wow…" he breathed out, singing in a blank page after the rest.

"Thank you!" she giggled and skipped away.

"That was weird…" Pence chuckled.

"Oh c'mon Zexion is an academic prodigy, he's really smart, not to mention his ability to find something in anything" Olette added, an air of smugness around her.

"Not to mention his awesome hair and boyish good looks" Hayner said, he and Demyx laughing.

"Is that all you think about?" Olette scolded.

"No, not really…" he smirked, Olette made a groaning sound at the face, knowing him well enough to know his 'perverted face'.

"I'd actually like to know more about him" Demyx chimed in.

"Why? Its all a bunch of exaggerated drabble anyway…" the detective said, a bitter tone to his voice "Just a bunch of morons using me to further their own careers…" he said it as if those 'people' were in his morning coffee as he was glaring at it heatedly.

"You're being modest" the blonde next to him said "I bet you're as good as they say, really" he smiled, Zexion was grateful for his hair this time around, a blush formed in his face and he didn't feel like getting any more attention.

"Order up!" Xigbar yelled from the kitchen "Get over here new girl" he said.

"Right!" she said.

"What about me?" another girl asked, her hair gray and short with red eyes, she wore the same apron as Yuna but wore black jeans and a shirt with a white heart on it.

"Oh, right…uh…Paine, right?" the man asked.

"Yeah, I'm not invisible y'know?" she said, slightly annoyed.

"Well, if you didn't muddle in the corner with a book you wouldn't be so invisible now would ya?" he chuckled "Anyway, go earn your money" he told them and both of them took the trays to the table.

The girls walked over, Yuna with a big grin plastered all over her face, while Paine had a bored look to her.

"Enjoying yourself?" Zexion asked the other new girl.

"It gets me by," she answered, a little a stunned at the question.

"See? I told you," her friend giggled "All right! Here are two eggs, bacon and toast breakfasts" Yuna announced, handing them to Zexion and Olette.

"Two giant blueberry pancakes" Paine said, the two boys waved their hands frantically "Of course…" she smirked, giving the plates to them.

"Last one's yours" the girl of two colored eyes said, handing the largest plate of pancakes to Demyx.

"Was it that obvious?" he asked, the others laughed; though Zexion chuckled.

"All right, enjoy yourselves but eat quickly, we're burning daylight" the detective announced.

"Yes sir!" was heard around the booth, even Demyx joined in.

"_It's time like these that make me stop and think: What makes me stick around? The fact that they make me feel normal or the fact that no one else wanted the job?"_ Zexion thought to himself.

~o~

"Man, I'm stuffed!" Demyx exclaimed, patting his belly

"I can't believe you could fit all that into yourself…" Zexion said disbelief, standing up to go to the counter to pay.

"So, do you really know how to play that thing?" Hayner asked.

"This? My sitar?" he said, picking up the instrument "…Hopefully I do, it's been a long time…" he said, strumming a few chords, sour notes coming out "Still out of tune…" he winced.

"We'll probably have to cut back a little…" Zexion said when he came back "You people almost ran me out of money, you'll have to make up for it…" he told his three interns.

"Well! I have some cases for ya!" Hayner exclaimed, air fisting.

"Shoot" he told him.

"Well…lemme see…" Hayner shoved past Pence and looked through his backpack taking out his notepad "Well, we have a classic: cat stuck up a tree…" he said, looking around, his friends laughed, Zexion looked annoyed "What? It's a job at least…also…we have claims of a woman that hasn't come out of her apartment for three weeks now…" Zexion quirked an eyebrow at this, stating his interest "And last but not least, that weird kid Vivi keeps claiming he's a black mage, bonking people in the head with a staff and running away yelling 'Flare!'" he finished.

"Well…we at least have one promising case there…let's go" the other's followed suit, Zexion stopping Demyx to talk to Xigbar "Would you take care of this?" he gave the sitar to Xigbar.

"All right…" Xigbar said "…but I ain't payin' for damages…" he took the instrument and put it in the back, hearing the bell of the door jingle as they left "Well, well, looks like you're right again Lexaeus…crazy bastard…" he chuckled "Hey girls! I'll be back later, I have to run an errand" he told them, they both agreed to it and the man with the ponytail left, a lopsided grin on his face, sitar in hand.

~o~

Zexion and Demyx, along with the junior detectives headed for the Sunset District Park, where an elderly woman tried to get to her cat, to no avail.

"Oh please, won't you help me?" asked the woman who spoke with a sweet voice, slightly plump and her hair short and white.

"Don't worry, we'll see it done" Zexion assured Olette and Pence walking the woman a bit away to talk about the fee; Senior citizen discount of course.

"How shall we do this?" he asked.

"Simple…" Demyx smiled, making a gesture for Hayner to follow "Get on my back" he told him, crouching down, Hayner smiled happily, getting on the man's shoulders.

"_Soft hair…_" he thought with a goofy grin.

"You got it?" the blonde below him asked.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed "Here kitty…" he told it, a small gray cat with small dark spots and…beady yellow eyes? "What the…?" the cat meowed a demonic meow, scratching at Hayner's hand, making both blonde's fall flat on their butts. It began to deform, jumping down to the ground, its front paws grew large, its skin totally dark, while its ears got pointier and its tail was gone, hind legs grew smaller as well. It meowed and pounded the ground with its giant fists.

"Shinra must be leaking…" Zexion mumbled, his lexicon in hand, growing quickly "Hayner!" he called out.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" he exclaimed, running out of the way.

Demyx stood up and the cat was about to swipe at him, but missed, as the blonde jumped backwards with grace.

"At least I know you can defend yourself…" the book wielding man smirked.

"I know, right?" he smiled.

The now deformed cat roared and it's arm coming in for a swipe.

"Protect!" Zexion called out, a blue shield forming around them both. The arm hit, and smacked itself against it; the deformed feline kept pounding at it.

"Can you hold it?" Demyx asked.

"I think…so…" he truly only thought so, beads of sweat poured down from his brow, feeling the strain of mentally holding the shield.

"Watch out!" Olette exclaimed, with both arms the black animal hit the shield, piercing it and hitting Zexion head on. He tumbled on the ground; his lexicon falling a ways from his reach, Hayner ran to his side, while Demyx stood his ground.

~o~

In another part of town, Xigbar, with the sitar in tow, visited an old friend with whom he shared a great history.

"Enter…" a booming, voice said, gentle yet with an unyielding presence, the sliding door to the room open and closed quietly.

"It would be nice if you could ask how I was first…" Xigbar sighed, the man in front of him grunted "Yes I'm fine, business is booming, and I got two new cute waitresses…well, one's cute, the other you might like, she kind of reminds me of your star pupil Lex…" Lex or Lexaeus is an almost giant man, standing at 6'2 feet tall, his short, messy hair a light brown with blue eyes. He sat Indian style on the wooden floor of his dojo where he trains local kids the art of self-defense and kendo.

"Why are you here?" the tall man asked.

"Well my old friend, and I do mean 'old', I think those theories of yours have really become a reality…" the man raised an eyebrow at this but kept silent "I have proof…" he stated, Lex could feel the blood rushing toward something that was otherwise gone but returned.

"What is it? What could you possibly have?" he asked.

"This…" he threw Demyx's sitar to the ground and it fell between the two "…do you remember who used to play something similar to this back then? He visited at least once but the memory is burned into you, just like your feelings for that other boy…" Xigbar smirked, he truly was smarter than he looks, but, after the whole incident and Shinra he put away his scientist robe for a more pleasant and rewarding job.

"I can't believe it…" the man breathed out, so unlike him.

"Well believe it bud, and they're together…this thing was given to me by Zexion and it apparently belongs to the now not-so-comatose Number IX, remember him?" Lexeaus' eyes widened in shock.

"…So…it's starting …" he stated.

"I guess so, but I'd rather be kept out of it" Xigbar stretched his limbs and cracked his neck "I have a pretty good life now, I don't intend to give that bastard anything more…" his face had a disgusted look in it when he said this "…You do what you want…" they then looked toward the instrument which began to twitch, and slowly but surely began to turn into water.

"I believe I will…" Lexeaus, now towering on his dojo stood, making preparations in his mind.

~o~

Back in the park, the animal roared, it's now invisible snout seemingly smelling for something and found the nearest recipient, Demyx. It lunged at him, hoping to crush him quickly with its weight, but the young man proved quick as he jumped to the side.

"Come on, is that all?" he chuckled, dodging another swipe.

The animal ran toward Demyx, its fist headed directly for him, and the blonde suddenly couldn't remember if he could **do** anything at all. He put up his arms in a vague defense when the animal screeched in pain, a slim column of water appeared just before the arm hit Demyx, the pressure cutting the hand off.

"Uh hun!" he exclaimed; doing a pelvic thrust "Take that!" he smiled.

"Hey!" Pence yelled, while Demyx turned his head.

"Uh oh! Second fist!" the blonde yelled, ducking and running for his life.

"…I don't know whether to laugh hysterically or keep telling him to run…" Hayner said, though Zexion whom he had dragged to safety, wouldn't reply.

That fist got nearer this time, but Demyx did something that surprised even him: "He caught it?" Pence said; "He caught it!?" Olette expressed; "Dude! He caught it!" Hayner chuckled.

"I caught it!" Demyx laughed, then turned serious "This is for hurting Zexion!" he then managed to toss the thing over his shoulder, oblivious to the fact of the cells that worked to his favor within him "Water!" he called out, extending his hands, pulses of water in the form of bubbles shot from his hands, hitting the animal, hard.

It meowed in pain and annoyance, jumping upward and out of the way.

"Had enough!?" Demyx exclaimed, the animal seemed pissed off and charged toward him "Damn it!" he said, mumbling, he saw it coming closer and closer, but again his mind went blank, but when it did he raised his right hand, a shield of water forming around him, the water converged and formed into a single bubble, he then broke it open and his sitar was back in his hand, he gave it a twirl and stood ready "Ready? I'm going to clean you out!" he then charged himself toward the animal, ready to bat him away but it's fist collided with the sitar, effectively blocking it "Like it?" he chuckled, slashing the pesky arm away with the spike on top of the instrument. The animal wailed and ran frantically, Demyx backed out and smirked "Gotcha now!" he charged in and jumped upward "Say goodnight!" he smashed his instrument right through it, slicing it in half.

The darkness that covered the animal began to disappear in a puddle and dissipate, while the small animal stood in the middle, meowing weakly. Demyx turned, a little sweaty and panting lightly but with a big grin on his face, he had fought his first battle (he was a bit out of it against Zexion) and won, too bad Zexion was out cold "What?" he asked, the young detectives were in shock, while the old woman ran toward her cat, examining it.

"My poor dear!" she exclaimed.

"Is she all right? I hope I didn't really hurt her" Demyx said.

"She seems all right…but…whatever happened to her?" she asked, none of them had an answer "But, you got her out of the tree and even cured her of whatever she had, I will pay you what we agreed and more, I am ever so grateful" she smiled.

"Isn't this a little weird for you?" Demyx asked, chuckling.

"Oh not really dearie, after all, as a retired fairy godmother you see a lot of things in your lifetime" the woman giggled, though the other's looked a little skeptically towards her "I have your number so I'll call when I have your munny" she then waved goodbye as she left.

"Weirdo…" Hayner whistled.

"Is he ok?" Demyx asked, sitting next to his host "Hey, wake up" he told him; as soon as he did the young man bolted up from the ground and looked around.

"Where's…" he began.

"Dude! You totally missed it!" Hayner laughed.

"What happened?" Zexion asked, puzzled.

"Demyx practically obliterated the cat thing," Pence said "Hey, can I get a pic?" he asked him.

"Later…" Zexion answered "…You did what?" he asked the blonde.

"Well…I…it hurt you and it was going to hurt more people so, I had to do something, so, I fought the thing, I even learned a new trick!" he exclaimed, twirling his sitar in his hands "It appeared out of nowhere into my hands, it was so cool!"

"I'll say!" Olette giggled "Oh, and we're still getting paid," she added.

"I…see…" he looked toward Demyx who went on about how it felt to fight. He'd thought of him as an incompetent head case who caused him even more problems, both mentally and physically than anything, but, he was competent, in conversation and in the field, it reassured him in a way, made him glad, though it also reminded him of his origins, if this was only a fragment of what Demyx could do, who else has Shinra made and for what?

"Well, seeing as we solved this case rather quickly thanks to Demyx…" said man blushed by the mention, he was recognized by Zexion after all "…let's move on".

They all walked animatedly toward the train station, heading back toward the Twilight District. And as they walked down the winding hill, Zexion fell to his knees; the other's rushed to him in a hurry.

"_What…what is this horrible stench? This darkness that seems to permeate everything here…_" he looked around frantically but didn't seem to find anything, the smell seemed to vanish next to Jesse's, Biggs' and Wedge's stores, but he sensed nothing out of the ordinary "Let's keep walking…" he told them, slightly choked up.

"Here…" Demyx said, handing his sitar to Hayner while he helped his friend walk "_Did he feel that too?_" the blonde thought to himself.

* * *

A/N: I dunno if I should call that a cliffhanger or a random cut out to keep it from being too long, so sorry folks but I wanted to spare ya the pain! But please, review!


	10. Chapter 8:Part 2: Silent

So if you haven't caught on all three Chapter 8 parts together form a sentence, hopefully y'all will get it ;D

Here's the second part to Part 1, Melodious, (previously Dancing and Nocturne but changed after some thought), this one is pretty long I think, and hopefully it will catch your attention, its #3 among my favorite chapters. You should also use the appropriate music if you have it XD it helps.

Also, I'm very surprised at the lack of responses for the previous Chapter when Axel took Hojo's experiment and spat it in his face, I expected angry fangirls at my doorstep...makes me wonder...O.o...oh well...

Bring it on!!!!

* * *

Chapter VIII:Part II: Silent

"Are you sure you're all right?" Olette asked as they walked toward the apartment buildings in the Twilight District, west of the Tram Common.

"I'm fine…I guess I still wasn't all right from the cat-thing…" he answered, his right arm to his chest while his left hand massaged his temples.

"All right…" the girl said, not totally believing him.

"So, is this the place?" Demyx asked, looking at a rundown building, it's windows boarded up, a giant 'keep out' sign on the door in bold red.

"Let's see…" Hayner said, mumbling as he went through his notepad "…right! Abandoned apartment building in the west part of Tram Common" he smiled "Let's go!" he exclaimed, but Zexion stood in front of all three.

"You're staying here," he told them sternly, with a smirk, their responses to be expected.

"Why not?" Hayner whined.

"Who'll take the pictures?" Pence asked.

"It can't be that bad…" Olette sighed.

"I'm not risking it, a mad person is in there, all right?" he kept his ground, he wouldn't be swayed.

"Besides, I'll be there too so you don't have to worry about him" Demyx smiled.

"You kill one monster and now you're all gung-ho" the man smirked.

"I was awesome!" the blonde stated.

"I didn't see it…" he chuckled, the others in unison answered: "You were passed out"

"That's besides the point…" he cleared his throat "…You're not going, period"

"Fine…" they sighed.

Zexion and Demyx turned and headed toward the building, they looked upward, it looked about to crumble one of these days.

"Are you sure we even want to go in there?" Demyx asked.

"Sadly yes…" the lilac haired man answered, opening the door which creaked loudly as it opened, he felt something shift inside but it left quickly.

As they came inside and the door behind them was shut it seemed they were in a completely different world. In contrast to Twilight Town's cheery and peaceful feeling this simple room was dark, dreary and filled with negative energy.

"I think I'm going to hurl…" Zexion said, trying to hold back his breakfast.

"What's wrong?" Demyx asked.

"The smell…it's fucking strong in here…I can't stand it…sadness, loneliness, pain and agony, not to mention the repressed darkness…" he mumbled, walking on the dusty marble floor.

Demyx took a whiff and all he did was sneeze, loudly, he didn't smell anything.

The room they were in was fairly large for the first floor of an apartment complex, there were paintings, covered in dust scattered near the walls, three in the far wall and a few on the floor. Spider webs that seemed for a fairly sized monster spider, as well as trails of dust, and a few wooden crates, a table, in the middle, which once upon a time must have looked decent with the candles and red cloth over it, a book case also adorned the far wall, dusty tomes left forgotten.

"Start looking…" the detective said in a nasal voice, he was holding his nose; Demyx chuckled but did as he was told.

Demyx decided to open the crates, he opened one of them, fairly easily to his surprise and inside it were empty wine bottles "_Nothing special here…_" he thought.

Zexion looked over the table, there were no apparent doors in the room, so there had to be a trap door of some sort "_Nothing here…_" he thought "Did you find anything?" he asked.

"Just a big rat!" he yelled, falling backward, getting a laugh out of Zexion "Hey, you laughed…" he smiled.

"What of it?" he smirked.

"I think it's the first time I hear it, other than the little 'I'm better than you chuckle'" Demyx told him.

"Huh…well…" he clicked his tongue, annoyed, he didn't think of himself better than other people, it was just a little obvious at times; Example A: Demyx tripped over a loose board and hit his chin, then groggily limped over a chair which broke under his weight and then almost fell on Zexion, and missed, trying to get him to stop laughing his ass off "T-This…" he coughed, trying to stop "I-Is a serious…hehe…investigation…" he cleared his throat, a small on his face "We need to keep quiet otherwise whomever is in here will know" he took a deep breath and his stoic look returned, though a small hint of glee was present.

"…You're…the biggest jackass I've met…" Demyx pouted.

"Why?" he asked.

"You didn't help me up!" he argued childishly.

"You're a grown man, get yourself up" he chuckled, almost on the verge of laughing again, he kind of tipped to the side and bonked his head on a chain that poked out of the ceiling "Ow…" he said, rubbing his head "What's this?" he tugged on it and a creaking sound was heard, he stepped backwards considerably and a staircase came out of the top left corner of the room "Well what do you know…you're actually useful Demyx…" he smirked "Demyx?" he asked, turning around, there was no answer and no Demyx in sight "Dem?" he asked, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

A vicious odor permeated the room and flared up Zexion's nostrils and it threatened to make him faint, a dust of green, purple and white entered the room as well, he fell to his knees feeling light headed.

"De-Demyx…" he called out, he finally saw him, he was walking up to him.

As he walked up to him, Zexion noticed his eyes, which had an odd look to him, but no time was granted to him to even blink as Demyx aggressively raised him by the neck and rammed him against the wall, choking him. Zexion felt his body go limp, his legs off from the floor, he looked at the usually cheerful man who had a murderous face.

"You stupid bitch!" he yelled "Wretch…disgrace, you're nothing but trouble!" Demyx yelled, his vice grip tightening.

"Dem-Dem….-yx…" the smaller man choked out.

"You destroyed me!" he yelled again, flinging Zexion with ease toward the table.

The young man smacked his head against it and fell on the floor, he felt a hot liquid fall down slowly from it, he was bleeding. He coughed and coughed trying to get air back to his lungs and his reddened face; he couldn't believe what he was seeing, Demyx practically just tried to kill him, but something was off: he wasn't talking about him, he was talking about someone else, a woman specifically "_He's been possessed…_" he thought, wriggling away from the man stalking up to him.

"Don't you dare walk away from me and look at me when I'm talking to you!" he yelled once more "You filthy bitch…horrendous monster…I should've killed you the minute that bitch of your mother left me!" he grabbed Zexion again who still couldn't find his bearings, he then was slapped repeatedly by him, hard, unrelenting, a side of him the lilac haired man had never thought he'd see, even though he was possessed, this strength was his own, so was the murderous glare, if he ever remembered the Shinra man he used to be, would it be like this? A thought that shook and saddened him to his core.

Again he was tossed to the ground, Zexion coughed blood, he felt battered and bruised, and he heaved and huffed for air, more of that dust permeating his being, but his mind and will too strong to be subdued.

"Stop…" he whispered, looking over the towering Demyx.

"I'll finish you for good…" Demyx growled, picking the smaller man up his shoulders.

"Stop it! Damn it!! This isn't like you!!!" Zexion yelled, the other's grip tightening "Wake up you big oaf!" he growled "Aerora!" he yelled once more, a giant of wind formed around Zexion and blasted Demyx to the ground.

~o~

Hayner, Pence and Olette waiting impatiently outside the building. The young girl sat reading a Nancy Duck book, while Hayner kept ranting on the differences between Zexion and Demyx, while Pence kept taking pictures of the building. They then began to hear crashes, a little laughter and then glass piercing yells.

"Zexion!" they expressed, running to the door.

"Open up!" Hayner yelled banging on it hard, trying to open it.

"Demyx! Zexion!" Olette called out.

"We have to get in there!" Pence said, helping his blonde friend with the door, but it was no use, it was sealed tight.

"Come on!" Hayner said, running toward the street "We need to get Chief Wallace" his friends nodded and ran toward the Tram, trying to keep their thoughts positive on their friends survival.

~o~

Zexion knelt on the floor, his breathing now slow and steady, his body shook and the feeling in his arms returned slowly. He put his hand into the sleeve of his coat and took out a bundle of small leaves, putting it on the back of his neck and face "Curaga…" he said, shakily, a light glow pouring out from the small leaf and into the wounds, closing them. He then took out his lexicon and out came a single page, he flicked it in his hand and turned into a small fan "Esuna…" another spell, small winds flew around the room, cleansing it from the dust, which didn't dissipate completely.

"…Damn…" he sighed "…I knew this wasn't going to be easy but…" he then looked at Demyx, passed out on the floor, his arms bleeding as was his left cheek "…_I knew you might turn on me one day, but…not now…I didn't expect it now…I told you…damn it…_" his mind didn't understand why, he hadn't known the man long enough to have any emotional attachment, but his heart felt so heavy he couldn't bear it "…Moron…letting yourself get possessed like that…" he sniffed, walking over to him "Cura…" he said, taking out a second leaf and curing the wounds on the man "Stay here…" he whispered "I'll be back…this person obviously has issues" he took a deep breath and calmed himself, he needed to be ready for anything, otherwise, they'd probably never get out.

~o~

Zexion walked up the secret stairs, the dark odor more apparent as he walked up. When he got up there only another dark room waited for him, cloth everywhere, on the ceiling, on the floor, and to the far back a giant portrait of a man with short silver hair, violet eyes and a strong chin, a man of stature. He walked slowly, his boots slightly creaking on the floor; he winced and stopped, waiting for something to happen.

"Who's there?" said a female voice, shaky in its question.

Zexion took a deep breath and walked up to the woman and stared: a Sorceress. A woman with flowing silver hair greeted him, her eyes were golden, the sign of deep darkness and as a sign of her sorcery she had a pair of black angel wings on her back, as well as two wing-like horns on her head. The young woman, battered and beaten, sobbed to herself and was clothed in a red almost blood like linen sheet.

"My name is Zexion…" he began "…Are you here all alone?" he asked.

"Are…you like me?" she asked, shakily "…an abomination?" she asked him.

"I…" he looked away then sighed "You could say that…" he took two gentle steps forward, her tear stained eyes never looking away "I've come to take you from this place" he told her.

"No, no…" she said, shocked, she continued the words then said "I cannot leave…daddy will…he will…no, I cannot leave…"she insisted.

"Where is he?" he asked.

"Right here…in my arms you see…" she chuckled darkly "Daddy…was so mean…" her mood changed, he noted, first she spoke like a docile wounded animal, but now she sounded childlike and psychotic "…I just couldn't stand it anymore…" she giggled "So…I…I…oh…daddy!" she wailed sobbing into the red cloth.

"…Well…" Zexion took out his lexicon and pages floated around him, stopping in certain places around him "…Let me see the truth…allow me to see through your eyes…" he draws a card from his sleeve, tall and blue "Ancient knowledge show me the way…Ramuh come forth!" the card begins to crackle and fizzle, lighting forming around him, the pages again being to scatter.

"What are you doing!?" the woman yelled in a panic.

"This is my power…to dig up the illusions of the past …even if my own are a mystery" he whispered the last, cursing his powers again like he's done so many times before "Allow me to know…" he told her calmly "…so I may release you…" a jolt of lighting struck the woman, she bolted up and clung to the wall behind her, the portrait of her father on looming over her.

~o~

The room began to shift considerably, a desk was now in front of Zexion, as well as a giant bookcase all around, the picture was still there in all its glory and a man sat on a big chair behind the desk, looking at some papers, his hair short, dark and messy from exhaustion.

A knock was heard on the door then was quickly opened, a small girl appeared, her hair an ebony color that shone blue and dark eyes.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed happily "Mommy got me this new dress, see?" she said twirling around.

The man looked up from his work and smiled "That's very pretty Alie" he told her, his voice soft but strong, like a good father would sound, Zexion thought.

A woman of blue eyes and brown hair came inside "Honey…" the woman said cautiously.

"What is it?" he asked, concerned.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked, and then kneeled down "Could you wait downstairs for Mommy, Alie? Mommy and Daddy are going to talk, okay?"

"All right…" the little girl sighed and left.

"What is it?" the man asked.

But then the image shifted quickly, apparently the girl hadn't been there, never heard the conversation.

The image shifted to another room, the kitchen it seemed. The girl, now a young girl about 10 years old, looked for some cookies in the jar, when she heard the front door open, her Dad had come home, but then, her mother ran down the stairs.

"Where have you been?!" she yelled "You're late! Why weren't you here on time? Do you know what could have happened?" she went on.

"Don't get hysterical…" the man sighed, annoyed "…Things have been busy at the office, once things settle down I'll try and…" but then he was silenced by a vicious slap.

"No! Do you know what could have happened if you weren't here?!" she asked, now hysterical "I don't want to harm anybody…I didn't ask for this…I don't want these…powers! I don't want to go mad! You are my Knight for Hyne's sake!" she yelled, but then she was pinned to the wall viciously.

"Don't touch me again…" he growled "…I didn't fucking tell you to get some filthy sorceress to give you her powers and because of your idiocy I do not want any crap, all right? I have to provide for this family, for our daughter, now back off!" he yelled, leaving her and going upstairs.

"You fool! What if I suddenly hurt the girl!?" she yelled, the man turned and had a vicious look to him.

"What did you say…?" he asked in disbelief, but as soon as he did the image shifted once more.

~o~

"_The woman got her powers from an unknown sorceress on the verge of death and became hysterical because of it. The psychological shock from gaining the knowledge of Hyne is great and can easily lead one to madness, to use his or her powers for evil, and only a Knight, a person who loves him or her deeply can keep this from happening…but apparently…the woman was __**too**__ hysterical and the man unforgiving…they couldn't control the other…"_ Zexion thought.

~o~

The next scene shifted to a basement, Alie's mother chained into a stone wall, an Odine generator was placed there, sealing the woman's powers.

"Mom…" the girl said, now pretty much a teen "I brought you some lunch…" she said, a tray of hot food with her.

The woman, a shell of her former self, twitched at the light and the cold, her skin had turned half black, her hair was spiked and silver, and the deformation had spread considerably.

"…Daddy says that…" the girl began "He's sorry for doing this…and that…you gave him no choice…but, you do know he still loves you, right? And so do I" she smiled, the only comfort her mother had. She gave her the tray and the woman went for it, fang like teeth in her mouth, she devoured everything.

"_It seems she has taken a Beastly power within herself, the woman looks nothing like a human…maybe that's why her daughter is like that now._.."Zexion thought.

"…You bitch…" the woman growled.

"Mom?" the girl winced.

"You little slut…" she went on "…I bet you love the attention he gives you…how he pampers you and gives you gifts…but he'll only turn on you…" she laughed, like a hyena would "Tell me child…does he pleasure you as well? He is a sick man that Father of yours…"

"Mother!" the girl yelled "How dare you!?"

"Don't you raise your voice at me!" she growled, lunging at her daughter.

"Stop!" the girl yelled, holding her at bay with the tray she had managed to snatch.

"All of you! You ruined me! Look at what you did to me!" she wailed.

"Mom! Stop!" the girl sobbed.

"I'll end it all! All of it!" she ranted.

She then took the tray from the girl, who ran a few steps back, knowing the chain was short. The woman snarled and threw the tray with great force at the generator; it sizzled and fizzed until its hum was gone. She cackled bitterly, knowing the powers she was cursed with were now at her command.

"And now…my dear daughter…you die!" she yelled, but a loud crack silenced her: the girl held a handgun in her hands and shot her mother.

"I'm tired of this!" she cried "Please mom…just…rest in piece…" her knees wobbled and she fell on them, trying to hold back her bile; had she really just shot her own mother?

"Wretched…fool…" the woman heaved "…you just sealed your fate…" she fell to the ground and started to dissipate "…Now…you'll be a monster as well…hated by that man you claim to love…" she laughed and laughed until she was nothing and a large burst of energy pierced the girl: she was now a Sorceress cursed with the power of her own insane mother.

"Daddy!" the girl yelled, running up the stairs quickly, she slammed the door open and fell to her knees "Daddy…she…" she cried.

Her father's eyes widened "No…" he whispered, her daughter looked nothing like she did before now, her hair was silver, and her eyes were a yellow color, her soft hands turned clammy and blue "You bitch!" the man yelled, stomping toward her "What did you do!?" he asked her, his voice louder.

"I-I…" she whimpered, her loving father, now a raving lunatic, shaking her viciously.

"Tell me!"

"I…Killed her…" she whispered "…She kept saying bad things about you and…" he then dropped the girl like a bomb.

"You idiot!" he yelled; "Now this madness won't end! Stupid girl!" he then began beating her viciously.

~o~

The vision returned to the dank room, the girl, now a woman still in her place.

"How sad…" Zexion sighed as he looked on, a tear escaping his eye "If only they would have been more understanding of each other, maybe, it would have been different…but…how long was this?" he thought.

"I've…lived for decades…" the woman, now Alie, said, "…Time is nothing in my hands…"

"I see…" the young detective nodded "…Well…I'll release you here and now…" he said, new pages flowed rapidly out of his seemingly eternal lexicon and stuck themselves around the area of the woman, forming a star pattern "A little spell of my own design, to extract a Sorceress' power…hopefully it'll work…" he said, unsure "Restrain yourself now…Return to the flow…Magic unwanted…Madness undone…Flow to the sky, Alexander! Cleanse with your light and remove the Darkness within!" he called out, a beautiful male angel was depicted in the card and it shone brightly.

"N-No…I shall not…You shall not take Father away from me!" the woman yelled "I am not Alie…that wretch of a girl…she burned in the pits of hell the day I was kursed…I am Sorceress Ultimecia!" she stated, her power flowing completely.

"_She's powerful!"_ his eyes widened at the realization, he was then blasted to the wall by a dark energy ball, a Graviga spell that threatened to pummel him into the wall "_D-Damn…_" he had dropped his lexicon, which began to flutter on it's own, a second one appeared and swallowed Zexion, then dropped him where he once stood "_That…was new…_" he thought, but quickly dismissed it as more of those spells were lunched at him "Reflect!" he called out, a shield of light that repelled the spells surrounded him, but it began to crack the minute the third spell hit.

"You shall not subdue me, young one!" she said, standing, the cloth hanging loosely on her naked body, her wings spread wide, she held a massive energy in her hand and looked wickedly at him "Maelstrom!" a giant dark hole threatened to swallow the room, she then fell to her knees, the seal taking effect.

"Damn it all!" he cursed out loud "To cover the light…Darkness unwind…come forth, Diablos!" a third card was taken out, a devil depicted in it, a dark cloud formed around Zexion and rushed at the dark spell, quickly negating it, causing everything inside to shake violently.

~o~

"They're over here!" Hayner said, police cars rushing to the apartment.

"All right, all right" a burly man sighed, large in stature with short black hair and skin, he held a navy blue uniform as well, the chief of police, Barret Wallace "Now, where's the emo kid?" he asked.

"In there…" Olette said, pointing to the building.

Watching the commotion, a girl with long brown hair and green eyes and a gentle expression approached them, and looked at Barret.

"There's something massive going on in there…Shinra might come for it soon…" she said.

"Aerith!" Barret said gladly "I didn't know you were in town!" he smiled.

"You know me, going where the wind takes me" she answered "But really…Barret…I think whomever's in there is in trouble, you can't feel it but I can sense it, the terrible crackling of magic…" she was about to elaborate more when her mobile rang "Yes? Oh…" she said in surprise "Yes, I'll meet you there" she then looked at the burly man "I have to go, we'll go to lunch soon, I promise, I'm dying to see Marlene"

"A'ight, see ya" the man waved, with his left hand as the girl left.

"Who's she?" Pence asked.

"An old friend, now…what do we do about him?" Barret pointed to the building.

"I guess…we wait…" Olette sighed, all three of them did, not knowing what was happening inside killed them, and not knowing made Barret itchy and sweaty in the wrong places, his right hand itching to be used.

~o~

Zexion panted as beads of sweat poured down his brow and back, he felt the pain of having been flung around by Demyx still, and the Graviga spell as well, and having had to summon three Aeons was not easy either, making for a grumpy and very tired man.

"Holy angel hear me…cleanse this place of the dark stench…free this soul from her torment…Madeen aid me!" he turned the Alexander card around and a female angel appeared to his left side, joining the male one to his right "Holy Judgment!" he called out, both angels pierced the seal with their magic, the woman wailed in pain as her wings were torn apart and her magic slipped away.

"Curse you!" she yelled.

Light and energy crackled in the room, it shook the building and was even felt outside, making Barret try to pry the building in any way but had no luck, yet.

The smoke cleared, the pages were torn and burned, and Zexion heaved heavily and was on all fours, sweat pouring from his brow. He held the three summon cards in his hand, blank for now as they regain their powers "_I think…I was a little over my head…_" he thought, panting.

"Haha…" he heard a laugh, he couldn't believe it "Yes, I'm still alive," she laughed.

"_I really am over my head,"_ he thought once more, eyes widening.

She staggered forward, her look demonic, though her wings began to fall apart "I shall rip you limb from limb…and feast on your flesh…" she stated.

"_Damn it!_" he cursed, the woman growled and lunged at him, but Zexion reacted quickly and reached for his lexicon and out of it pulled a black javelin and stabbed Ultimecia through the heart. Blood spurt from the wound, hitting him in the face, he took it out, her face in utter shock, and more blood spilled. She fell on her knees and looked at peace, finally. Zexion caught her and held her as she slowly slipped away.

"I only wanted us to be a family…I never understood why Father never loved Mother even though she was a Sorceress, or why Mom worried so much…if they loved each other, why did it matter?" she asked.

"They were human in the end…they couldn't handle their reality…back then…being a Sorceress was burden, and even now…I'm sorry…" he apologized.

"No…I thank you…but…you've doomed yourself now…" she said, raising a bloodied hand to his face, noticing the missing half "You…"

"I'll be fine, don't worry…" he assured her, as she began to dissipate and vanish, a burst of magic power pierced Zexion, making him choke "Maybe…not…" he tried to breathe, his

lungs feeling hot, he then noticed, his mysterious lexicon began to move, the first pages, those illegible and unknown pages to even him began to move, actual words were formed, but only fragments in a few pages, then with a slam closed itself, turning small once more.

"…I guess…some light reading for later…" Zexion chuckled, groggily standing up. The floor creaked and squeaked under his boots, he felt sore all over, he wondered how he could even walk still.

He walked down the steps and sat on the second to last one "…They'll probably scold me the minute I get out there…but…maybe that's why I won't turn out like you, Alie…" he sighed, then stood up, walking toward still unconscious Demyx "_A Knight, huh? I've never considered the thought…"_ he picked up the blonde and sat him on his lap, shaking him awake, he knew he slept like a rock, so, another jolt of lighting was needed.

"Ah!" Demyx wailed, shooting up suddenly, Zexion's tired but smirking face greeting him "Zexion!" he expressed, hugging the man tightly "I'm so sorry! I couldn't stop myself! I wanted to, but…I'm so sorry…"

"It's all right…I'm fine…"he said hoarsely.

"You look like crap…" he chuckled, but he was right, a purple bruise on his neck, blood marks on his face, a split lip and more "So…mission accomplished?" he asked.

"You could say that…" he said bitterly, taking out a pink colored book "A make-shift diary I made from the memories of the victim, this should give the tabloids something to talk about, and the cops off my back…" he stated.

"The cops?" he asked, he then realized: he was covered in blood "Zexion…" he then held the man again, who surprisingly held him back.

"I actually thought I was a goner…but…as always, I lucked out in the end…" he mumbled, his blooded face buried into the man's chest.

"Let's get you out of here…" he smiled at him, putting the man's left arm over his shoulder, and his own right one across his small back.

"I've been using you as a crutch all day…" Zexion told him.

"I don't mind…" Demyx smirked.

"Pervert…" the smaller man told him, while the blonde snorted.

As they were walking out the door got blasted open, sending them both to the floor, making Zexion's temper flare up.

~o~

Barret smiled as the gun arm in his right arm cooled down, having blasted energy at the building.

"Are you crazy!?" Olette berated.

"You could have killed him!" Hayner yelled.

"That was sweet, but extremely unnecessary" Pence added.

"Now now, he's probably a'ight, it's the Emo kid we're talkin' 'bout" he said in his own definition of English.

"What is the big, fucking idea!?" they heard Zexion yell his glare and scowl present, as he looked like a pathetic doll in Demyx's arms.

"You're ok!" the kids expressed.

"Who's the ignoramus that decided to blast the door open!?" he asked, pissed off; the three young detectives pointed at Barret "Of course…"

"So…" he began, clearing his nostrils "What do we have?" the large man asked.

"You mean 'had'…" Zexion said, some grunts appearing and pointing their guns at him, noticing the blood on his face and clothes, and on Demyx as well.

"Matsumoto! I told you, no killing in my town! It doesn't matter if they're crazy" he said menacingly.

"Relax…" he said, still calm. He nodded to Demyx, who chucked the diary between them "That's the victims diary…everything as to why she was all cooped up is in there…"

"That still dun' explain why you're all covered in blood…" he said, quirking an eyebrow.

"Could you really have handled a Sorceress on the verge of a mental breakdown with control over time and space?" he asked, with a smirk and his own rise of an eyebrow.

"Um…wait! Sorceress!" the man yelled "You killed a…you…are you?"

"I'm fine, I just need some rest…go clean up big guy…" he chuckled; he and his friends walking back up the street.

"I'm too old for this…" the man sighed "…It was an exorcism last month…an out of control monster last year…the fuck is happenin' in this town…" he took off his cap and smacked it on his knee then turned and addressed his men "All right boys, clear this place out!" they saluted the man and went to work.

~o~

Zexion and company walked up the steep hills of Twilight Town in silence. Bloodied Zexion was carried by Demyx, while the three teens walked behind them, their faces staring at the ground.

"So…what was all that screaming?" Olette asked, wanting to break the awkward silence.

"You don't want to know…" Demyx answered, while Zexion's head bobbed, his body yearning for rest "…I didn't get to see her though, I was knocked out" he chuckled.

"Wow…" Pence said "…Well, what happened then?"

"From what I saw…seeing as I was kind of possessed by the insane father…his family has had a bad history of Sorceresses, his great-grandmother fought in the Wutai War, she was a terrible woman that slaughtered even innocent people, she was killed by a monk of Wutai but managed to teleport herself to her daughter before anything happened and so on, the heritage stopped at his mother, he wouldn't take her mother's powers so…she buried her still alive…thought it didn't work…making for a very bitter pedestrian" he admitted.

"You…got all that while…possessed?" Zexion slurred.

"Yeah…the old man's spirit was gracious enough to share his story with me, after I pried, threatened and joked around a little…" he chuckled.

"Anyway, the wife went out one day and caught a Sorceress power, unwilling and unknowing, when she did notice she told her husband, who was apparently abused by his Mother when she had her powers, and he lashed out on her when she herself began to lash out; she worried of going insane, unnecessarily and he feared she'd hurt their daughter, the way his mother hurt him, so he locked her up, but, when his daughter got them…well…he couldn't handle it…"

"_All of that, wow…I'm…impressed…_" Zexion smiled, which made the people in front of him and the blonde stop.

"You're…" Hayner began

"…Smiling…" Olette said with a shocked face

"…That is odd…" Pence ended.

"What?" Demyx asked.

"You…keep surprising me…that's all…" he admitted.

They laughed; such a simplistic answer from someone who's usually so complicated was odd, though not rare. As they began to walk once more, the town rumbled and an explosion blared in the distance, from the Shinra building; they heard sirens and a police car stopped next to them.

"It wasn't me!" Zexion expressed.

"I know! It's those damn Shinra! You'd better get on home!" he told them, speeding past them.

"Well, you heard the man…" Zexion said "You three get home" he told the youngsters, who whined "Let's go" he told the blond, who walked with him toward the tram, heading towards the center of the town.

* * *

A/N: Review please and keep'em coming!!! =]


End file.
